News release

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) today released its investigation report (A12C0053) into the fatal May 2012 mid-air collision between a PiperPA-28R-200 Arrow and a Lake LA-4-200 Buccaneer near St. Brieux, SK.

On 12 May 2012, the Piper Arrow was descending eastbound in preparation for landing at the St. Brieux airport with 1 pilot and 2 passengers aboard. Meanwhile, the Lake Buccaneer with 1 pilot and 1 passenger aboard was flying northbound at 4500 feet toward La Ronge, SK. The 2 aircraft collided approximately 8 nautical miles west of St. Brieux at approximately 4500 feet. There were no survivors and both aircraft were destroyed.

Both aircraft were flying under visual flight rules (VFR). In uncontrolled airspace, VFR aircraft rely on the see-and-avoid principle, where pilots must look out for other aircraft and take evasive action if necessary. The converging position of the 2 aircraft relative to each other would have made it very difficult for each pilot to see the oncoming aircraft. The reaction time available was reduced to a point where collision avoidance was not possible.

As mentioned in a previous TSB aviation occurrence report (A06O0206), aircraft operating in VFR are at continued risk of collision when the see-and-avoid principle is relied upon as the sole means of collision avoidance. While both aircraft were seen on air traffic control (ATC) radar, neither was required to communicate with ATC in the vicinity of the accident site. Both aircraft were also equipped with passive collision avoidance systems. The investigation could not determine if they were operational at the time of the accident, but there is a risk that these systems can be set to detection parameters resulting in insufficient warning time to pilots.

See the investigation page for more information.