Icing conditions caused fatal plane crash in northern Ontario

PICKLE LAKE, Ont. – A new investigation report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has concluded that ice accumulation led to a plane crash that killed a pilot near Pickle Lake on Dec. 11, 2015. At about 9 a.m. that day, a Cessna 208B Caravan left Pickle Lake Airport with a load of cargo destined for Wapekeka Airport, but the aircraft struck trees and terrain and was destroyed ten minutes later, stated the report, which was published on Sept. 28 of this year. The TSB investigation revealed that ice accumulation on the plane had seriously degraded the vehicle’s performance with aerodynamic stall. In addition, Wasaya Airways Limited conducted the flight according to the company’s typical practice of operating in icing conditions without assessing the safety risks appropriately. “Without effective risk-management processes, aircraft may continue to be dispatched into forecast or known icing conditions that exceed the operating capabilities of the aircraft, increasing the risk of degraded aircraft performance or loss of control,” the TSB wrote in the report.

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