Ministry of Natural Resources
Transportation Safety Board Final Report Released
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has released its final Aviation Investigation Report into the tragic helicopter crash that killed the pilot and three OPSEU members on January 21, 2003 outside of Sault Ste. Marie.
The report finds it was likely that the hydraulic pump belt failed, causing hydraulic failure. When the pilot tried to land the helicopter because of the hydraulic problem, the aircraft went out of control and crashed. The reason for the loss of control could not be determined by the investigation.
The TSB states that it offers no new recommendations in the report because, during the course of its investigation, it communicated the safety deficiencies it identified to Transport Canada and the Direction Generale de l’Aviation Civile which issued a number of directives and advisories to address all of the
identified problems.
OPSEU members continue to honour the memory of the four Ministry of Natural Resources workers who died in the crash. Chantelle Walkey, Walter Ceolin and Bruce Stubbs were OPSEU members. Michael Maguire was a manager. The four were conducting moose surveys north of Sault Ste. Marie when the helicopter went down.
The report is on the Transportation Safety Board website:
www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/air/2003/A03O0012/A03O0012.pdf
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