Bell 212 hit an area of severe turbulence over Howe Sound on the morning of March 5, 2021, causing a crash on Bowen Island, the Transportation Safety Board found.
A 2021 Bowen Island helicopter crash in which one Bell 212 died but two local pilots miraculously survived was caused by the helicopter’s “environmental conditions” and “system limitations,” a Safety Board of Canada investigation has found of transport (TSB).
The Sechelt-based aircraft of Airspan Helicopters Ltd. headed to Cypress Provincial Park that day – March 5, 2021 – where he was working for BC Hydro. There were no passengers on board and the helicopter was not carrying any cargo.
The weather was “favorable for severe mechanical turbulence, lee waves and low-level wind shear along the helicopter’s flight path,” the TSB said on July 28, 2022. The pilots were aware of the conditions, but based on improving forecast, a desire to complete the flight and an observation that other aircraft were operating from Sechelt Airport, they decided to proceed, the TSB said.
The flight took off from Sechelt Airport at around 9:35 a.m. Ten minutes later, cruising about two nautical miles from Bowen, the helicopter entered an area of severe turbulence, resulting in a loss of control and “excessive flapping of the main rotor blades.” the publication says. The main rotor blades cut off the tail rotor drive shaft so there was a loss of “rotor thrust and yaw control”.
The pilots regained control, but the extreme position of the Bell 212 (it was inverted or nearly inverted, the report said) during that first loss of control likely caused the hydraulic system to malfunction and cause the engine to shut down, the release explained. The flight controls became difficult to manipulate and the pilots chose a large field on nearby Bowen Island for an emergency landing.
As the helicopter slowed for landing, the lack of thrust on the tail rotor (because the driveshaft had been cut, which the pilots did not know) caused a loss of yaw control and the helicopter began a rapid right turn. After several spins, the helicopter struck trees and came to rest upside down on a rocky ridge in the Gardner Mountain area (northwest corner) of Bowen, according to the report. Photographs of the incident show the fuselage resting against a large tree on the cliff face.
Although both pilots were injured, they walked away from the crash. The investigation found that the pilots’ flight helmets and four-point seat belts reduced the severity of their injuries and they were able to quickly exit the helicopter.
At the time of the crash, there was consensus among first responders that the pilots were two of the luckiest guys — the Bowen Island Fire Department thought they would be in for a much grimmer scene. “But the two of them, they were just sitting there. And there were a few little cuts on their arms and that’s it,” the island’s deputy fire chief told Bowen Island Undercurrent at the time.
Paul Toschak, owner and operator of Airspan Helicopters, was one of two pilots in the helicopter. Although the experience was horrific, he is also now grateful for the gift of perspective he gained. “It was a terrible thing. I wish it never happened,” Toszczak said in an interview on July 28, after the report was released. “[But] it has made me a better person, a better owner-operator, a better pilot, and a more experienced or well-rounded person.
“Talk to older people in the aviation community, it’s like, ‘Paul, you’ve got the experience of a lifetime in three minutes.’
Airspan temporarily suspended operations following the incident and conducted an internal safety investigation, the TSB said in a statement, and took action to mitigate future incidents.
The biggest change is that the company will no longer fly in predicted severe turbulence or bad weather, Toszczak said.
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