Accident Overview
On a visual flight rules flight from Bamfield, British Columbia, to Lake Cowichan, British Columbia, a Cessna 172M floatplane (registration C-GGVK, serial number 17266204) operated by Parallel Seaplanes Inc. crashed. The aircraft carried two pilots and one passenger. The accident occurred at approximately 1500 Pacific daylight time (PDT). The wreckage was located about 15 nautical miles northeast of Bamfield. The three occupants suffered fatal injuries. There was no fire.
Flight History
Earlier that day, at about 1025 PDT, the floatplane departed from the company's main base at Lake Cowichan on a cross-country flight with three persons on board. The first leg headed south to Sooke, British Columbia, around the southern shore of Vancouver Island, with a stop for lunch at Bamfield. The planned second leg was to follow Nitnat Lake back to Lake Cowichan. The aircraft docked at the Bamfield water aerodrome at about 1200. After lunch, the three occupants boarded the aircraft: the pilot flying in the left front seat, the pilot non-flying in the right front seat, and the passenger in the right rear seat. The floatplane left the dock at about 1430 and took off northwest bound. Instead of the planned return route, the aircraft turned right toward the Alberni Inlet. A photograph recovered from a digital camera found in the wreckage shows Nixon Island as the aircraft flies toward the Sarita River mouth, indicating level cruising flight at about 500 feet above the water.
Wreckage Examination
Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical control problems. All control surfaces were attached, and physical damage signatures indicated that the engine was operating with high power at impact. The weather was not a factor for the proposed flight.
Analysis
The attitude of the aircraft at impact is consistent with a stall and spin entry. The airspeed indicator's pointer slap mark was at 40 knots, indicating speed had not increased beyond stall. The absence of damage to the surrounding trees suggests the aircraft stalled close to the treetops, at an altitude insufficient to recover from the stall before terrain impact. The aircraft was found pointed downhill and opposite to the expected route of flight, leading investigators to conclude that the stall likely occurred when the pilot was reversing course while flying up the valley at low level. The pilot or pilots were applying right roll aileron control, normally the action to recover from a left roll, but ineffective during a stall or spin recovery. Control was lost in the stall.
It could not be determined why the aircraft was so close to terrain in the accident area. Possibilities include low-level flight to observe something on the ground or a practice landing and takeoff at Sarita Lake. However, the aircraft should have been able to climb above terrain on the presumed route unless optical illusions delayed awareness of rising terrain while operating in a cruise configuration until the last moments.
Conclusion
The aircraft was operating close to terrain and reversing course when it stalled and entered a spin at an altitude from which there was insufficient height to recover before colliding with terrain.