Investigation Report

Worker Fatally Injured in Helicopter Crash

September 5, 2016

CMIS File #OHS-109281-OFF1D February 2017

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F-OHS-109281-OFF1D Alberta Final Report

Labour Occupational Health and Safety

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The contents of this report This document reports Occupational Health and Safety’s investigation of a helicopter crash in September 2016. It begins with a short summary of what happened. The rest of the report covers this same information in greater detail. Incident summary Contractors were in a helicopter conducting a pine beetle survey. For undetermined reason, the helicopter lost power and crashed into a forest killing the passenger in the front seat. The pilot was seriously injured and transported to the Grande Prairie hospital. The passenger in the back only received minor injuries. Background information Simply Liv Ltd. (Simply Liv) was a forestry consulting company that began operation in 2011. They had been contracted by the Government of Alberta, Department of Agriculture and Forestry, to conduct mountain pine beetle aerial surveys. Simply Liv had contracted Ridge Rotors Inc. to fly the workers by helicopter to the sites to be surveyed. Simply Liv had also contracted the services of 1245267 Alberta Ltd. (4Evergreen 4Restry) to assist in the aerial surveys. The owner of Simply Liv (owner) was its only worker present at the time of the incident. 1245267 Alberta Ltd. (4Evergreen 4Restry) (4Evergreen) was a forestry consulting company that was hired by Simply Liv to conduct mountain pine beetle aerial surveys. The company was started in 2008. Two workers, also owners of 4Evergreen 4Restry, were conducting the surveys. At the time of the incident, worker 1 was in the helicopter that went down while worker 2 was in another helicopter in the same general area. Ridge Rotors Inc. (Ridge Rotors) began in 2004 to provide helicopter flight services primarily in Northern British Columbia and Alberta. Ridge Rotors had been hired by Simply Liv to fly its workers in the Fox Creek area to conduct mountain pine beetle aerial surveys. Ridge Rotors had two helicopters at the service of Simply Liv at the time of the incident. The owner was a forestry technician and the passenger in the rear seat of the helicopter that went down. The owner had owned Simply Liv since 2011 and had hired 4Evergreen as sub-contractor to help in the mountain pine beetle aerial survey. The owner had received a contract from the Government of Alberta, Department of Agriculture and Forestry to conduct the survey. The owner had also hired the helicopters and pilots from Ridge Rotors to fly the surveyors. Worker 1 was a forestry technician who owned 4Evergreen for the past eight years along with worker 2. Worker 1 was sitting in the passenger seat of the helicopter which was located to the front left side of the cabin.

F-OHS-109281-OFF1D Alberta Final Report

Labour Occupational Health and Safety

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The helicopter pilot (pilot) involved in the incident had been flying for Ridge Motors for the past 3 years. The pilot had been flying helicopters for over 5 years. The pilot did have certification to fly the Bell 206. Equipment and materials The helicopter being used was a Bell 206 which could accommodate one pilot and three passengers. At the time of the incident, there was only the pilot, the owner (who was sitting in the back seat), and worker 1 (who was in the passenger seat located on the front left side of the helicopter). The helicopter’s empty weight was approximately 1,057 kilograms (kg), and its maximum speed was approximately 120 knots (222 kilometres/hour (km/h)). At the time of the incident, there were two Ridge Rotors’ helicopters in service.

Figure 1. Example of Bell 206. Photo taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_206. Sequence of events On the morning of September 5, 2016, two crews were set to fly in two helicopters from the Whitecourt Airport to finish the last day of mountain pine beetle aerial survey. Each crew consisted of one pilot and two forestry technicians. The contract from the Government of Alberta, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry had started on August 10, 2016, and was to last for one month. Due to inclement weather, the crews had to stand down and could not lift off. At approximately 1: 00 p.m., the crews were able to lift off. The helicopter, which would eventually be involved in the incident, was running the survey in the north/south grid of the Whitecourt area.

F-OHS-109281-OFF1D Alberta Final Report

Labour Occupational Health and Safety

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After approximately 2 hours in the air and flying at approximately 90 metres (m) off the ground, the crew had set down for a 5 to 10 minute break at Little Smoky River. The pilot did not turn off the helicopter. The owner, who normally sat in the front passenger seat during the survey flights, sat in the back seat of the helicopter and allowed worker 1 to sit up front to conduct the last survey before returning to base. After a short period of time, the helicopter was banking left when the owner heard the helicopter power down. The helicopter came down amongst trees and tilted onto its left side landing on the ground. (Figures 2, 3 and 4) Figure 2. Helicopter in its post-incident location.

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Labour Occupational Health and Safety

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Figure 3. Helicopter in its post-incident location.

Figure 4. Helicopter in its post-incident location.

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Labour Occupational Health and Safety

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The owner was able to get unbuckled and climb down from the helicopter where the owner found the pilot on the ground requiring first aid (Figure 5). Worker 1 was still strapped in the front passenger seat. Figure 5. Helicopter in its post-incident location. The helicopter’s Emergency Locating Transmitter (ELT) had started to send a downed aircraft signal. The second helicopter, which had landed to refuel, received the signal that there was a problem with the first helicopter and flew out to find it. The two members of the second survey crew remained on the ground. Emergency response for assistance was sent out. When the first helicopter’s crew was found, the owner had minor injuries, the helicopter pilot had suffered numerous injuries, and worker 1 was pronounced deceased at the crash site.

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Labour Occupational Health and Safety

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Completion A review for enforcement action was completed on January 10, 2017, and it was determined that prosecution or an administrative penalty were not appropriate based on the circumstances surrounding this incident. There were no contraventions of the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety legislation. Transport Canada continues their investigation.

This file was closed on April 1, 2017.

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Signatures

ORIGINAL REPORT SIGNED January 30, 2017

Lead Investigator Date

ORIGINAL REPORT SIGNED February 23, 2017

Manager Date

ORIGINAL REPORT SIGNED February 28, 2017

Director Date