Pilot error to blame for Calgary plane crash that killed 6: report

Layout of aircraft wreckage at the TSB regional office in Edmonton. (Source: TSB)

A formal investigation into a fatal plane crash west of Calgary that killed six people in 2023 says the pilot was ill prepared and was driven by "personal desire" to make the flight.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) released its report into the crash of the private aircraft on Wednesday.

The investigation says the Piper PA-32R aircraft took off from the Springbank Airport on July 28, 2023, on "a visual flight rules flight" to Salmon Arm, B.C.

Approximately 15 minutes after takeoff, the plane crashed into Mount McGillivray and killed everyone on board.

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In its report, the TSB said one of the errors the pilot made was not obtaining a Nav Canada weather briefing before the flight and instead relying on "sources on the Internet."

"Person-to-person weather briefings are provided by Nav Canada flight information centres free of charge," the report said.

"Regional specialists provide interpretive weather briefings, advisory services and flight plan filing by telephone."

The report went on to say that the cloud ceiling in the Exshaw area, where the crash occurred, were lower than what was reported further east.

"Local highway cameras close to the crash location showed obscured mountain tops in the region as well, which further suggests that mountain peaks near the crash site were well obscured by low level clouds," the TSB said, quoting an excerpt from an independent report from Enivronment and Climate Change Canada.

Weather radar image of the area of the occurrence at 2100 (Source: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Meteorological Service of Canada, Prediction Services Directorate, Meteorological Assessment July 28, 2023, Kananaskis Village, Alberta (08 November 2023), p. 18)

An analysis of the wreckage and impact marks on the rock face "were consistent with the aircraft being in a cruise altitude," the report said.

In addition to the inattention to weather, the TSB report said the pilot had several errors in decision making prior to the flight.

"Multiple factors, such as the desire to attend the social event in Salmon Arm, the diminishing available daylight and his familiarity with the (visual flight rules) route from (Springbank Airport), could have influenced the occurrence pilot's (decision making) and risk perception."

Since the pilot had flown the route before during the daytime, the TSB suggested "he likely considered that his previous experience and recent qualification justified his decision to conduct the approximately 1.7-hour flight."

However, as the flight was delayed due to inclement weather, the TSB said the pilot was monitoring the weather from an unknown data source and may have believed the weather was improving.

"The pilot likely had a lowered comprehension and perception of potential hazards along the route, resulting in an unanticipated encounter with instrument meteorological conditions, for which he was unprepared," the TSB said.

"The pilot's decision to depart was influenced by an incomplete understanding of the weather, familiarity with the route, time pressure, and a personal desire to complete the flight.

"When the pilot encountered clouds and reduced visibility, for unknown reasons, he decided to continue the flight toward the destination and, subsequently, the aircraft collided with terrain in the cruise attitude."