What happened
During a filming operation for a television commercial at the Llewellyn Glacier in northern British Columbia, a Bell 206L-3 Longranger helicopter struck a serac, leading to a fatal accident. The aircraft, which was equipped with a nose-mounted camera, was carrying the pilot, a film director, and two camera operators. The mission involved capturing footage of an ice climber on a nearby serac.
At approximately 1715 Pacific daylight time, the helicopter was flying at high speed through a crevasse area between ice formations. During a fly-pass, the main rotor made contact with a serac. This impact caused a rotor blade to break, leading to a loss of control. The helicopter subsequently careened into the ice wall of a perpendicular crevasse, where the aircraft broke apart and caught fire before tumbling into the depths of the glacier. The impact was so severe that the main fuselage was unrecognizable, and there were four fatalities.
An ice climber positioned on a nearby serac was showered with debris from the wreckage but escaped without injury.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage and the impact marks on the glacier. The marks left on the initial serac were consistent with a rotor blade striking the ice during level, powered flight. Subsequent marks on a second ice wall demonstrated that the rotor system was bending abnormally following the initial strike. The investigation found that the engine and tail section remained somewhat intact, though the main rotor assembly had separated from the transmission.
Environmental conditions at the time were favorable, with a high-pressure system providing clear skies and light to moderate winds. The investigation also looked into the operational nature of the flight, noting that the use of a wide-angle lens required the aircraft to fly much closer to the terrain and the subject than previous shots had required.
Findings
- The pilot was operating the Bell 206L-3 Longranger at a speed and altitude that provided insufficient margin for error in dimensional judgment.
- The pilot lost control of the helicopter after the main rotor struck a serac and broke.
- There were no mechanical malfunctions identified in the aircraft prior to the impact.