Accident Details
On a flight from Iyachisakus Lake, Quebec, to an outfitter on Mollet Lake, 26 nautical miles east, a float-equipped de Havilland DHC-2 Mk 1 Beaver (registration C-GPUO, serial number 810) departed at 1710 eastern daylight time with the pilot and six passengers on board. The flight was conducted under visual flight rules.
At about 1730, a witness at the outfitter heard the seaplane flying eastbound south of the lake. Approximately 20 minutes later, when the aircraft had not arrived, the outfitter manager dispatched a boat to search. The Beaver was located 1 nautical mile east of the outfitter, partly submerged in Mollet Lake near the north shore, with the nose in water and leaning backward.
Four injured occupants clinging to the fuselage were rescued. The pilot and two passengers sustained fatal injuries.
Investigation Findings
The investigation identified causes and contributing factors: the seaplane stalled at an altitude that did not allow the pilot time to recover, and the stall occurred in circumstances conducive to illusions created by drift.
Risk factors included the absence of a stall warning device, which could have alerted the pilot to the onset of a stall; improved survival chances if front-seat occupants had worn shoulder harnesses as prescribed; life jackets were available but occupants who evacuated likely did not have time to retrieve and don them; and the emergency locator transmitter was unable to emit a distress signal due to a short circuit when the antenna contacted water.