Loss of visual reference caused by weather conditions are the likely cause of the Aug. 15, 2024 helicopter crash near Port McNeill, according to a report from the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The TTSB released its report on April 23, 2026 outlining their findings surrounding the crash that took the life of the pilot. The report shared evidence that points to inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions (IIMC) as the crash cause. In this case, IIMC means the pilot likely flew into cloud or fog and lost visual reference with the ground.
The report outlines the flight history. Operated by West Coast Helicopters, the American Eurocopter initially flew to a job site. This leg was uneventful. The pilot and a passenger left the job site and headed to a nearby staging area. There, the pilot rigged the helicopter with longline equipment while customer technicians prepared two external loads — one weighing approximately 1,400 pounds and the other roughly 600 pounds — to be ferried to the job site.
The pilot departed the staging area with the heavier load at 9:41 a.m. Satellite tracking data shows the helicopter made multiple attempts to reach the job site. Initially approaching from the northwest the helicopter turned back from a ridge and re-routed from the southeast.
According to the report, the helicopter did not cross the ridge, instead it turned back east from the ridge at 9:43 a.m., flew south and approached the job site again, this time from the southeast arriving over the job site approximately one minute later. After hovering for approximately two minutes, the helicopter departed at 9:47 a.m. for unknown reasons and flew approximately 800 feet southeast before returning over the job site.
At approximately 9:49 a.m. the helicopter hovered for three minutes at around 100 feet above ground level. Within approximately 20 seconds, the final GPS position was recorded, with the helicopter travelling northeast at roughly 60 knots before entering a catastrophic descent exceeding 9,000 feet per minute.
The three customer technicians reported the helicopter overdue approximately an hour later. The company diverted another aircraft to search for the missing helicopter; however, poor weather slowed the search efforts. The wreckage was finally spotted in a gully approximately 1,000 feet northeast of the job site.
The pilot had released the cargo approximately 450 feet west of the helicopter impact site, appears to have then rolled 125 feet downhill and come to rest approximately 325 feet from the helicopter impact location. The longline was still connected to the load, which is consistent with the load being intentionally released from the helicopter belly hook attachment point. Weather conditions were cited as a critical factor of the accident.
The reports state that weather conditions near Brooks Peninsula at the time of the accident included, “low stratus cloud bases (as low as 400 ft above ground level at a nearby reporting station), terrain-accelerated winds of around 20 knots and potential localized turbulence from elevated convection — with the 1,867 ft ASL accident site likely obscured by cloud.”
What this means is that taken together, the conditions describe a challenging and dangerous flying environment — low visibility, hidden terrain, unstable winds and rough air.
At the time of the accident, there were no reported outstanding defects or known deficiencies with the helicopter. While functional tests of the helicopter couldn’t be performed due to damage, there were no signs of a system malfunction that would have affected the controllability of the helicopter.
Due to the fact that the pilot hadn’t flown in the 10 days prior, there medical factors and fatigue were also ruled out as crash causes.
Read the full report at TSB Canada.