Poor weather in mountainous terrain may have played role in Squamish, B.C., crash, says TSB
Pilot flying on visual flight rules declined pre-flight weather briefing, safety board says
A report from the Transportation Safety Board says poor weather may have played a role in the fatal crash of an amateur-built small plane near Squamish, B.C., last year.
The report released Thursday also has a warning to other pilots to avoid search and rescue operations if they haven't been called in to help.
The board says the small plane carrying a pilot and passenger spiralled into mountainous terrain shortly after leaving the Squamish airport on May 24 last year, bursting into flames and killing all onboard.
Its report says the pilot was flying on visual flight rules but declined a pre-flight weather briefing from Nav Canada even though the cloud ceiling was as low as about 100 metres with light rain falling.
The board's safety message says pilots are reminded that flying with visual flight rules in marginal weather can be challenging, especially in mountainous terrain.
The report also says some people who received the pilot's phone crash notification flew to the location, including a helicopter that got in the way of a search chopper, prompting a warning from the board to pilots to stay out of search areas.