Pilot error led to fatal plane crash last year in Haines Junction, investigation finds
CBC
Pilot error was responsible for a plane crash in Haines Junction, Yukon, last year that killed a Quebec man and seriously injured the five other people who had been on the sightseeing flight.
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) on Thursday released its investigation report into the crash that happened on the afternoon of June 10, 2024.
The crash involved a Cessna U206G aircraft owned and operated by the glacier tour company Rocking Star Adventures, based in Haines Junction and Burwash Landing, Yukon.
According to the TSB report, after completing a sightseeing flight in Kluane National Park that day, the plane was returning to the Haines Junction airport when there was a complete loss of engine power.
The board found the pilot did not switch the fuel selector to the fuller tank before landing, which led to the engine being starved for fuel.
The pilot attempted to restart the engine, but the aircraft entered an “accelerated aerodynamic stall,” the reports says, and crashed in a grassy area near the runway.
The plane landed upside down, and all six occupants including the pilot sustained broken backs.
Jean-Jacques Gemme, 68, of Amherst, Que., was fatally injured by a spinal compression fracture.
While strong winds were reported at the time of the incident, investigators did not consider weather to be a factor in the crash.
The report notes that the pilot was one of the company’s most senior, having worked with Rocking Star Adventures for nine years with over 2,000 flight hours under his belt.
The TSB found the pilot relied on memory rather than consulting a checklist in his day-to-day operations, and missed a crucial step on the flight that day: switching the fuel selector to the fuller tank before landing.
The report says the pilot was then unable to restart the engine as he did not follow the manufacturer’s in-flight procedures. The pilot then began a 180-degree turn toward the runway that required a steep bank angle to complete, resulting in an “accelerated aerodynamic stall at a height too low to permit recovery.” That's when the plane hit the ground.
Investigators wrote that Rocking Star Adventures, “does not have a safety management system in place, nor is it required to by regulation.”
The investigation was unable to determine how many simulated engine failures, if any, were conducted during the pilot’s required annual training.
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