News Safety
2022 plane crash site in Qualicum Beach, B.C., required ‘extensive’ cleanup: report

RICHMOND, B.C. — The Transportation Safety Board says the site of a small plane crash on Vancouver Island required “extensive environmental rehabilitation” after a private Cessna went down due to engine trouble.

The board’s report on the crash last July says the plane hit a water-filled ditch on the edge of a tree-lined farmer’s field, where it released oil and fuel.

The report says the pilot and only person on board was seriously hurt in the crash, which happened just outside the Qualicum Beach Airport.

It says conditions at the time created “serious” potential for ice to build up in the aircraft’s carburetor, though investigators found no faults after taking it apart following the crash. The Cessna had undergone an inspection and repairs eight hours before the flight, but investigators were “unable to determine” whether ice in the plane’s carburetor factored into the accident.

A safety message in the report cautions all pilots to be aware that carburetor ice buildup “can occur even in warm temperatures.”

News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2021