What happened
Between November 2014 and February 2015, a series of three incidents occurred involving a fleet of Canadian-registered Cessna Grand Caravan 208B aircraft operating in Uruguay. These aircraft were utilized by a company performing aerial geophysical surveys for oil, mineral, and environmental mapping. The mission required the installation of specialized electronic equipment to measure total magnetic fields, radiometry, gravity, and magnetic gradients.
To ensure the reliability of the data collected by these sensors, the aircraft were required to operate at low altitudes. During these low-level flight operations, the aircraft encountered bird strikes. While two of the incidents were classified as incidents, the event on February 21, 2015, resulted in an accident. The impact caused extensive damage to the left wing of the aircraft, specifically requiring the replacement of the upper and lower wing skins, the leading edge, and the de-icing system.
The investigation
The CIAIA investigation focused on the operational requirements of the geophysical survey mission and the environmental risks associated with the flight profile. The investigators examined the necessity of low-altitude flight for accurate sensor readings and the increased probability of bird encounters when flying within lower atmospheric layers.