What happened
In the afternoon light of a day in British Columbia, a group of four light aircraft departed Langley Regional Airport for a local formation flight toward Chilliwasting. During the maneuvers, a Cessna 150G, registered C-FVXY, and a Cessna 150L, registered C-GZUB, collided while performing a turn.
The impact caused the two aircraft to briefly become entangled and descend uncontrollably. While the aircraft separated at approximately 400 feet above the ground, the structural damage to C-FVXY was catastrophic. The aircraft broke apart in mid-air and crashed into a shallow slough, resulting in two fatalities. The pilot of C-GZUB managed to regain control and performed an emergency landing in a nearby farm field; while the aircraft sustained substantial damage, the pilot escaped without injury.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the operational hazards of formation flying and the inherent visibility constraints of high-wing aircraft. Investigators examined flight path data, impact signatures, and cockpit visibility models to reconstruct the sequence of events.
It was established that the pilots were engaged in a pre-arranged formation flight. The investigation found no evidence of mechanical failure in either aircraft. Instead, the focus shifted to how the pilot of C-GZUB lost sight of the lead aircraft and the subsequent maneuvers that led to the collision. The investigation also noted that the group had not established contingency procedures for loss-of-sight events during their pre-flight briefing.
Findings
- The pilot of C-GZUB lost sight of the lead aircraft, C-FVXY, during a right-hand turn.
- After initially moving into a flight path that avoided a collision, the pilot of C-GZUB turned back toward the leader to rejoin the formation, which placed the aircraft on a direct collision course.
- The high-wing configuration of the aircraft significantly restricted the pilot's field of vision, preventing the timely detection of the lead aircraft during the turn.
- The forces involved in the mid-air impact and the subsequent ground collision were too great for the occupants of C-FVXY to survive.
- The lack of a formal plan for recovering a lost aircraft in formation contributed to the accident.
- The use of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) operating only on 121.5 MHz limited the ability of nearby aircraft to detect the distress signal.