What happened
On the evening of 19 January 2002, a Piper PA-28-161, registration C-GBQY, departed Gaspé, Quebec, for a night flight to Québec, Quebec. The flight was being conducted under visual flight rules (VFR). Shortly after takeoff, the pilot reported being five nautical miles west of the airport, but this was the final communication received from the aircraft.
Despite an intensive search effort, the aircraft was not located until nearly 11 months later, when an airliner's sensors detected an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal. The wreckage was found in a densely wooded area near L'Ascension-de-Patapédia, New Brunswick. The crash resulted in two fatalities, and the aircraft was destroyed.
The investigation
The investigation examined the flight planning, weather briefings, and the pilots' qualifications. Both occupants were students at a flight training school, holding private pilot licenses with recent night flying endorsements but no instrument flight rules (IFR) ratings. The flight was intended to be a cross-country exercise for their commercial pilot licenses.
On the day of the accident, the pilot had received multiple weather briefings warning of deteriorating conditions, including low ceilings and reduced visibility due to snow showers. Although the pilot had initially decided to postpone the flight due to the weather, he later filed a new flight plan and departed. Investigators also analyzed radar and GPS data, which showed the aircraft entered a descending turn and significantly increased speed just before impact.
Findings
- The pilot's lack of experience combined with poor weather conditions resulted in spatial disorientation that led to a loss of control.
- The aircraft likely entered a spiral dive, characterized by a nose-down attitude and a rapid increase in airspeed, which ended in a collision with the terrain.
- The presence of a portable GPS on board may have influenced the decision to depart despite the forecast for marginal VFR conditions.
- The ELT failed to transmit an immediate signal following the crash, likely because debris struck the reset button during the impact.