A fatal plane crash off B.C.’s central coast at the end of July is one more in the list of seaplane accidents in Canada this summer, prompting questions around their safety.
On July 26, four people died when a seaplane crashed on Addenbroke Island, about 100 kilometres north of Port Hardy. During July, 12 others were killed in three separate seaplane crashes across the country.
The Transportation Safety Board, an independent agency tasked with investigating air, rail, marine and pipeline incidents, is investigating the most recent crash. On Monday, the agency released preliminary details about the investigation, saying that the aircraft collided with terrain about 11 a.m. July 26 on the way to a remote fishing lodge. The safety board identified the investigation as Class 3 of five levels, indicating that investigators will analyze a small number of safety issues, which may result in recommendations to improve safety.
Seaplane pilots face a different set of challenges than pilots who fly planes equipped with wheels based on the often remote nature of where they’re flying to, said Doug Chichak, a charter pilot at Victoria Flying Club with roughly 650 logged hours piloting seaplanes. When seaplane pilots land in areas away from airports, they don’t have the assistance of air-traffic control that aids pilots with landing and taking off by monitoring wind, air temperature, air pressure and weather.
Chichak said air-traffic control is like an “extra set of eyes” at the destination that seaplane pilots usually don’t have access to. Instead, they make judgments on the weather ahead, based on their knowledge, experience and training.
Seaplane pilots don’t have the measured runways and manuals that come with airport flying – which allow pilots to calculate whether they are able to take off safely – so they need to do rough calculations to determine whether they have enough water to take off and land, Chichak said. They also need to gauge whether there are obstacles in the water that will make landing unsafe. Conditions on the water can change quickly, he added.
“Even on a clear, calm day, boat traffic – if not monitored correctly – can cause wakes that could cause problems when landing,” he said. “Wakes are not a good thing to land in. You really have to pay attention.”
He said that the coast’s hilly terrain can be an added challenge to pilots during takeoff. Pilots need to make sure they’re able to reach a high enough altitude to clear hills and trees.
“Long lakes and ocean are best for taking off,” Chichak said. “I like to have a lot of water in front of me.”
Chichak believes some private pilots might overload seaplanes, which makes the aircraft easier to stall at a lower speed, something they might not have anticipated with the extra weight. If the pilot starts a turn before reaching a high enough speed, it can lead to a stall, and at a lower altitude during take-off, that doesn’t leave a lot of time to recover before hitting the water or ground.
The most recent study on seaplane safety, put out by the Transportation Safety Board in 1993, found that seaplanes account for 19 per cent of Canadian aircraft and 18 per cent of the total number of accidents.
Since seaplanes are flying for only about half the year due to frozen lakes, the safety board concluded the number of seaplane accidents appears “disproportionately high.”
Carter Mann, director of government affairs and communications for Canadian Owners and Pilots, cautioned against raising the alarm at what might seem like a spike in seaplane crashes. He said the number of accidents in summer might appear high, but it can at least partly be attributed to the fact that some seaplane pilots are flying only during the warmer months. On B.C.’s coast, seaplane pilots are able to fly year-round.
The safety board’s study found that seaplanes that are able to be equipped with either floats or wheels have more fatal accidents when equipped with floats and landing on water. The study showed that 17 per cent of accidents were fatal when on floats, compared with 10 per cent on wheels. The difference suggests that landing on water brings different risks.
According to an investigation by the safety board, half of the occupants in seaplane crashes from 1976 to 1990 drowned while trapped inside the plane’s cabin. Chichak said seaplanes can flip upside down in a crash – especially if they crash during a turn – making an escape difficult for disoriented passengers.
A coroner’s death review panel in 2012 made a number of recommendations to improve seaplane safety, including requiring that all commercial seaplanes be equipped with emergency exits to allow for a quick evacuation after a crash. The review also recommended that all passengers and crew be required to wear personal flotation devices during flight. The Transportation Safety Board made the same recommendations after its investigation into a 2009 crash near Saturna Island that killed six of the eight people on board.
The review panel determined that passengers could improve their chances of survival by identifying exits and mentally rehearsing what they would do in the event of an accident.
“If passengers are not provided with explicit safety briefings on how to egress the aircraft when submerged, there is increased risk that they will be unable to escape following an impact with the water,” the review concluded.
Transport Canada announced regulations this year requiring occupants of a seaplane to wear inflatable flotation devices when there are under 10 passengers. The regulations come into effect in September 2020. Seaplanes carrying 10 or more passengers will continue to be required to have flotation devices for everyone on board. The government agency also announced mandatory training on how to exit a plane underwater for all pilots of commercial seaplanes, to be completed by March 2022.
That training is a response to the recommendation from both the safety board and the coroner’s review panel that commercial seaplanes be installed with emergency exits that enable quick evacuation after a crash. During six years of back-and-forth between Transport Canada and the safety board to address the recommendation, Transport Canada said it could not find a “feasible and effective” method to satisfy the suggestion. In January 2017, Transport Canada cited a 2006 evaluation by an engineering team of emergency evacuation from submerged seaplanes that did not suggest design modifications to enhance safety. The agency concluded there was no design solution that would have a significant impact on the level of safety.
The Transportation Safety Board deemed this response to the recommendation “satisfactory in part.”
Chichak, who said he always wears a personal floatation device while flying, welcomes any recommendations that would improve the safety of seaplanes.
