The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its investigation report into the fatal helicopter crash near Campbellton last year.
The TSB has found that low altitude and the speed that the private helicopter was flown caused it to crash into the Restigouche River after colliding into transmission cables in September of 2016.
The report also says it’s likely the pilot wasn’t aware of the power transmission lines and didn’t see them before the helicopter struck and severed them, after which it fell into the Restigouche River. It was concluded the low altitude and speed the helicopter was being flown made the cables hard to see and avoid.
The board also says the pilot was likely tired at the time of the crash and and it was found there were cannabinoids in his system, though the TSB says conclusions about impairment or when those were used couldn’t be made.
Roberto Bissonette, a singer and shareholder of a Quebec baseball team, the Quebec Capitals, was killed along with pilot Frédérick Decoste. The baseball team’s president, Michel Laplante, was also on board and he was injured.
(Photo: TSB report)
