What happened
On the afternoon of 1 October 2017, a Robinson R44 helicopter, operated by ASAP Avionics Services Ltd., departed from the Campbell River Airport in British Columbia. The flight was being conducted as a company indoctrination mission with two pilots on board.
Shortly after the initial departure, at approximately 15:48 Pacific Daylight Time, the aircraft returned to the airport area to perform hovering maneuvers near the runway. During these maneuvers, at about 15:54, the helicopter entered an uncontrolled right-hand spin. The aircraft subsequently struck trees located roughly 1.2 nautical miles northwest of the Runway 12 threshold.
The impact resulted in one fatality and one serious injury. Following the collision, the surviving pilot used a personal mobile phone to contact emergency services. Although the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter was activated, the signal was not detected for approximately 80 minutes after the impact.
The investigation
The TSB investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the loss of control and the subsequent collision with the terrain. The investigation confirmed that there was no post-impact fire and that no dangerous goods were being transported on the aircraft at the time of the accident.