Air transportation safety investigation A19W0066

The occurrence

On 1 June 2019 at approximately 2235,^{Footnote 1} a privately operated American Aircraft AA-5B (registration C-GQIJ, serial number AA5B-0544), was on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight from Medicine Hat Airport (CYXH), Alberta to Moose Jaw/Air Vice Marshal C.M. McEwen Airport (CYMJ), Saskatchewan, with a pilot and 2 passengers on board. The aircraft departed during the hours of darkness; official night began at 2207.

There were no records from NAV CANADA of a flight plan being filed or a weather briefing being given to the pilot. The exact weather information that the pilot obtained from other sources prior to departure is unknown.

The aerodrome routine meteorological report (METAR) for CYXH at 2100 indicated calm winds, visibility 4 statute miles (SM) in smoke, broken clouds at 28 000 feet above sea level, and a temperature of 22 °C. At 2200, the visibility at CYXH improved to 6 SM in haze and by 2300, approximately 15 minutes after the accident, to 8 SM.

At 0401 on 02 June, the joint rescue coordination centre (JRCC) Trenton received a call indicating that the aircraft was overdue. The aircraft was expected to arrive at CYMJ at 0030. The JRCC had not received any reports of signals from the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) being detected. A missing aircraft file was opened, and assets were assigned to the search.

At 0934, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) ground search identified the occurrence aircraft. Minutes later, a military aircraft flew over the site and received a weak ELT signal. At approximately 0940, 2 search and rescue technicians parachuted into the site. They confirmed that the pilot and the 2 passengers had been fatally injured. The 121.5 MHz ELT was found intact and was manually switched off by first responder personnel.

The aircraft struck the ground at high velocity on unworked farmland approximately 18 nautical miles east of CYXH in the vicinity of Irvine, Alberta (Figure 1).

Image

The aircraft attitude was approximately 45° nose down and some left bank because the left wingtip struck the ground first. The airframe had broken up completely; however, all aircraft parts were accounted for at the accident site. The impact was not survivable.

The degree of breakup and damage from the impact precluded any detailed assessment of the flight control system and aircraft systems. The portions of the flight control system, engine, propeller, and flight instruments that were examined did not exhibit any failures that would have prevented normal operation.

According to the records reviewed, the aircraft was certified and maintained in accordance with regulations. There were no outstanding defects noted in the journey log, and the aircraft was being operated within the weight and balance design limits.

The pilot held a student pilot permit that had expired on 01 May 2014, and a Category 4 medical certificate that had expired on 24 June 2017. There are no Transport Canada records showing that the pilot held an aeroplane license or a rating to fly passengers at night. According to the pilot’s personal log, he began his private pilot training in Regina, Saskatchewan, in April 2010 and accumulated 83.1 hours of dual flight training time before his first solo flight in December 2011.

The pilot’s flight hours at the time of the accident are unknown, because his personal log was not up to date. At 07 October 2012, the pilot had 142.3 hours of total flight time recorded in his log.

The pilot first flew the occurrence aircraft on 30 April 2014. According to the aircraft journey log, the pilot had acquired approximately 40 hours of night flying with another pilot on board.

Media materials

Deployment notice