An ill-fated powerline inspection with a helicopter that killed four people in Cranbrook, B.C. was technically against federal regulations, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
In the TSB's aviation investigation report into the May 13, 2008 crash, investigator Damien Lawson said the low altitude flight to inspect power lines in the city, by BC Hydro and Bighorn Helicopters, would not have been authorized under Transportation Canada regulations had the operator filed for approval.
The height and speed of the single engine helicopter wouldn't have been enough for the pilot to take action in the event of an engine failure.
Yet regulations are so vague most operators have no idea those operations are only permitted in multi-engine helicopters.
"These operations have been going on for 30 years," Lawson told media in Vancouver. "It's proof positive there is a need for consolidation of the regulations to make them perfectly clear."
Pilot Edward Heeb was flying about 120 feet above the ground - with BC Hydro employees Dirk Rozenboom and Robert Lehmann on board - when the engine on his Bell 206B Jet Ranger suddenly lost power.
The chopper missed a residential building but crashed into the street.
All three men were killed along with pedestrian Isaiah Otieno, the son of a Kenyan government minister studying in Canada.
The engine failure was likely caused by a problem with the fuel management system, but the TSB couldn't pinpoint an exact cause.
Matt Kieltyka reports for Vancouver 24 hours.
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DPL
2 years ago
Min height regulations have
Min height regulations have been in place seemingly forever, and yet they are often broken to get the job done. If the pilot even bothers to say no, he usually is then looking for another job. So people keep dying.
happy
2 years ago
Height had nothing to do with it
The issue was that it was a single engine machine where a multi engine one should have been used.
Single engine helicopters can safely land in the event of an engine failure using whats called the auto-rotation procedure but you need some altitude to get your rotor speed up, thats why single engine machines are not safe for powerline inspection at low altitude.