What happened
On a summer afternoon in Quebec, a Piper PA-31, registered as C-FQQB, was performing its second magnetometric survey mission of the day. Operated by Exact Air Inc., the aircraft departed from Schefferville Airport under visual flight rules, heading toward a survey zone situated 90 nautical miles northwest of the airfield. After finishing the survey work at an altitude of 300 feet, the crew began the return leg to the airport. During this phase, the aircraft flew at extremely low altitudes, ranging from 40 to 100 feet above the terrain. At approximately 17:56 EDT, the aircraft struck power transmission line cables while traversing a railway area. The impact caused the plane to crash onto a mine tailings deposit located roughly 3.5 nautical miles northwest of Schefferville Airport. The crash resulted in two fatalities.
The investigation
Investigators examined the flight path and the circumstances surrounding the low-altitude survey operations. The investigation established that the aircraft was operating at very low altitudes above the ground during its return flight. Following the impact, investigators noted that no fire occurred at the crash site, and no signal was detected from the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter.