What happened
On 1 August 2018, an Aries Aviation International Piper PA-31, registered C-FNCI, was conducting an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight from Penticlam Airport, British Columbia, to Calgary/Springbank Airport, Alberta. The aircraft, carrying a pilot and a survey technician, had recently finished two hours of survey operations near Penticton.
While flying at 15,000 feet, the pilot received instructions from air traffic control to descend to 13,000 feet and reduce speed to 150 knots indicated airspeed. During this phase of the flight, approximately 40 nautical miles southwest of Calgary/Springbank Airport, the pilot noted that the right engine was producing less power than the left engine. Roughly 90 seconds later, at an altitude of approximately 13,500 feet, the aircraft lost controlled flight and struck terrain near the summit of Mount Rae. The impact resulted in a brief explosion and fire. Both occupants sustained fatal injuries.
The investigation
Following the accident, an emergency locator transmitter signal was detected by the Canadian Mission Control Centre, which alerted the Trenton Joint Rescue Coordination Centre. Search and rescue teams reached the crash site about one hour after the occurrence. The investigation focused on the sequence of events leading to the loss of control and the engine performance discrepancy noted by the pilot prior to the impact.