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

Six people died in a deadly jet crash west of Calgary in 2023, and an official inquiry found that the pilot was ill-prepared and motivated by a "personal desire" to complete the journey.
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On Wednesday, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) made public its investigation report about the private aircraft disaster.

According to the investigation, on July 28, 2023, the Piper PA-32R aircraft took off from Springbank Airport on "a visual flight rules flight" to Salmon Arm, British Columbia.

All occupants perished when the aircraft crashed into Mount McGillivray(opens in a new tab) about fifteen minutes after takeoff.



A Nav Canada weather briefing would have been one of the mistakes the pilot made, according to the TSB's assessment, as he had instead relied on "sources on the Internet."

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

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

The report continued by stating that the Exshaw cloud ceiling were lower than what was observed further east in the area where the tragedy happened.

Citing an excerpt from an independent report from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the TSB stated, "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."


(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) Weather radar image of the occurrence area at 2100

The study stated that an examination of the debris and contact marks on the rock face "were consistent with the aircraft being in a cruise altitude."

The pilot made multiple poor decisions before to the flight, according to the TSB investigation, in addition to not paying enough attention to the weather.

"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."

The TSB concluded that since the pilot had completed the journey in daylight hours previously, "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."

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