A man who was hiking in B.C.'s backcountry and found aircraft debris in a field now has an answer to where it came from.
Charlie Osborne was hiking Ghost Peak on Sept. 23 around 2 p.m. when he noticed an object on the ground.
“I thought it was interesting and wondered what happened,” Osborne told Glacier Media. “I didn’t see any other debris around, which I also thought was interesting.”
The object he found appears to be part of an aircraft and possibly a rotor blade from a helicopter. He found another similar piece, not far from the other one.
Heli-skiing crash
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has confirmed the debris was from a helicopter that crashed into a tree nearly three decades ago.
On February 22, 1996, a pilot in a Campbell Helicopter took off from Revelstoke at 9:15 a.m. to transport 12 heli-skiers.
A TSB investigation found that as the pilot tried to clear a ridge in the alpine, the helicopter was going too slow and low. The main rotor stirred up freely fallen snow and the pilot lost visual reference with the ground. The main rotor blades struck a tree.
The investigation revealed the main rotor blades were destroyed by contact with the tree, and the transmission and rotor assembly broke from its mountings and partially entered the cabin area.
The rotor blades caused damage to the top of the cabin and one blade narrowly missed the pilot.
"The pilot in this accident had 17 years of experience in heli-ski flying, including seven years at this location. He held the appropriate licences and ratings required for the flight,” the TSB report said.
Minor injuries
The helicopter was substantially damaged, but only one person suffered minor injuries and the people continued skiing that day.
According to the report, it was the second flight for the pilot that day but this time the aircraft was heavier because he refuelled. The weight of the helicopter was within the limits.
“The helicopter was lower and slower at the point when the pilot chose to reject the approach,” the report said.
Weather was a significant factor in the crash and the pilot's decision to overshoot towards rising terrain contributed to the crash.
A TSB spokesperson said the Air Branch in B.C. believes the rotors were from the Bell 205 helicopter.
Revelstoke Airport manager Mark Gallicano reached out to a local helicopter company at the airport about the debris.
"They know of the rotor blade up by Ghost Peak, they said it has been there awhile,” Gallicano said.
When an aircraft crashes, the aircraft’s insurer is responsible for moving it.
