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91ƵShivering uncontrollably91Ƶ: pilot feverish before fatal B.C. chopper crash

Transportation Safety Board releases report into 2022 tragedy near Kitsault
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A Geotech Aviation Ltd. Airbus Helicopters AS350 B3 helicopter is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - TDSB, Ian Boychuck

The Transportation Safety Board says a helicopter pilot killed in a crash in British Columbia almost two years ago was sick in the days leading up to the accident and reported 91Ƶshivering uncontrollably91Ƶ before the aircraft went down.

The board91Ƶs report on the November 2022 crash says the helicopter was on a surveying flight near Kitsault, B.C., in the province91Ƶs northwest when the pilot reported being 91Ƶunwell91Ƶ about an hour and a half after takeoff.

The report says the helicopter crashed into a 91Ƶheavily forested mountainside,91Ƶ killing the pilot and destroying the aircraft.

The safety board says investigators couldn91Ƶt 91Ƶdetermine the full context91Ƶ of the fatal crash because the helicopter did not have flight data recording equipment that captures images and audio from aircraft cockpits.

The report says the Airbus helicopter was fitted with a tracking unit, but the data it records was 91Ƶtoo sparse91Ƶ to figure out the aircraft91Ƶs 91Ƶexact manoeuvring91Ƶ in the minutes before it went down.

The board91Ƶs report says the pilot was over 65 years old and had up-to-date medical certification and though he91Ƶd had past troubles with vertigo, the feverish symptoms and shivering during the flight suggested he 91Ƶlikely experienced a degree of incapacitation91Ƶ before the crash.

The Transportation Safety Board has previously recommended that flight data recorders be required on commercial and private aircraft where they are not required now.

91ƵThe benefits of recorded flight data in aircraft accident investigations are well known and documented,91Ƶ the report says, adding that the recommendation for 91Ƶmandatory91Ƶ installation was made after a fatal airplane crash that killed four people in 2016.

Transport Canada agreed to the recommendation, but there have been 91Ƶlengthy delays in implementation,91Ƶ the board says in its report.

It says Transport Canada has pushed back its timeline to publish details of possible regulatory changes until 2025 for 91Ƶadditional analysis.91Ƶ





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