What happened
On the day of the accident, an aircraft departed from Nanaimo, British Columbia, arriving at Penticton Airport at 12:32 PDT. The aircraft's three belly tanks were fully loaded with 184 litres of fuel, and the rear section of the cabin contained various pieces of luggage and cargo. Before departure, the pilot spent roughly one hour preparing for a planned flight to Springbank, Alberta. During this period, the pilot communicated via telephone with the Kamloops Flight Information Centre to coordinate the flight path.
Due to active forest fires causing airspace restrictions, the pilot established a route that would take the aircraft via Penticton, Kelowna, Vernon, and Revelstoke before reaching the final destination. The aircraft departed from Penticton Airport at 14:20 PDT carrying the pilot and two passengers. Approximately seven minutes after takeoff, the aircraft went down in a ravine within Penticton Creek, located about 11 nautical miles northeast of the airport. Following the impact, a fire erupted that destroyed much of the fuselage and ignited a small forest fire, which was subsequently spotted by a crew operating a firefighting aircraft. No radio transmissions were received from the aircraft during the incident. The crash resulted in three fatalities.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating in an area with significant airspace restrictions due to ongoing forest fires.
- The impact was followed by a post-crash fire that consumed the majority of the fuselage.