Manufacturing defect led to fatal B.C. helicopter crash: TSB
Federal investigators say a manufacturing defect caused a helicopter to crash on Vancouver Island last year, claiming the life of the pilot.
Brent Fedirchuk was killed when the single-engine Hughes helicopter he was piloting alone crashed in a wooded area near Port McNeill, B.C., shortly after 9 a.m. on April 6, 2022.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has determined that undetected gaps formed inside an engine compressor wheel during manufacturing, eventually leading to catastrophic engine failure.
"Shrinkage voids developed near the inner circumference of the engine's sixth stage compressor wheel during the manufacturing process and went undetected using the existing inspection methods," the safety board announced at the conclusion of its investigation Thursday.
"The affected compressor wheel eventually failed when two separate fractures, one due to fatigue caused by shrinkage voids and the other due to overstress, occurred. This resulted in a catastrophic engine failure, and the subsequent impact with the ground."
Fedirchuk was conducting logging operations for Kestrel Helicopters in the Naka Creek area, east of Port McNeill, at the time of the crash.
Safety board investigators say the engine failed shortly after the helicopter released a bundle of cedar blocks from a 55-metre longline.
"Therefore, the helicopter likely had insufficient height and forward speed to conduct a successful autorotation," the TSB report says.
Brent Fedirchuk was the pilot who died when the Hughes 369D he was flying went down shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 6, 2022. (Facebook/Funtastic)
Fedirchuk broadcasted a radio distress call at 9:09 a.m. and the helicopter hit the ground seconds later, according to the report.
"The helicopter impacted the terrain with significant vertical speed, causing substantial damage to the helicopter," the report found.
The ground crew that was working with the helicopter arrived at the accident scene approximately 10 minutes after the crash and found the pilot fatally injured.
The TSB says engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce issued a service letter to its customers on May 18 recommending the engine compressors be converted to a new wheel design during their next overhaul period.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Toddler of Phoenix first responder dies after bounce house goes airborne
A two-year-old child died after a strong gust of wind sent the bounce house he was in airborne and into a neighbouring lot in central Arizona, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.
Canada's most wanted fugitive arrested in P.E.I. in connection with Toronto homicide
A suspect in a fatal shooting in Toronto’s east end last summer has been arrested in Charlottetown, just one week after he topped a list of Canada’s most wanted fugitives.
Plane overshoots runway at airport in St. John's, N.L., no injuries reported
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada were in St. John's, N.L., Wednesday after a plane overshot the main runway at the city's airport.