Turbine Otter Crash Near Campbell River, British Columbia (C-FEBX)

Flight Details and Departure A single-engine turbine Otter equipped with amphibious floats departed Triumph Bay, British Columbia, at 1634 Pacific daylight saving time (PDT). The aircraft carried one pilot and nine passengers and was conducting a visual flight rules (VFR) flight to Campbell River. ## Approach and Communication At 19:01:59, the pilot contacted Campbell River Flight Service Station (FSS), reporting a position seven nautical miles northwest of the airport. Radar data from Comox indicated the aircraft was actually 11 nautical miles northwest, just south of the Narrows. The pilot was provided the 1900 PDT weather observation, which reported a ceiling of 300 feet overcast and visibility of two miles in light rain and fog. ## Clearance and Navigation The pilot requested a special VFR (SVFR) clearance to enter the Campbell River control zone. Clearance was delayed by Comox air traffic control (ATC) until an instrument flight rules (IFR) aircraft on approach to Campbell River had landed. At 19:03:54, the IFR aircraft reported breaking clouds at 900 feet above sea level (asl), approximately 550 feet above ground level, on the ILS approach to runway 11. The turbine Otter pilot acknowledged this information. The IFR aircraft landed at 1904, and the turbine Otter was issued an SVFR clearance at 19:04:45. ## Final Approach and Loss of Contact Radar data indicated that at the time of the SVFR clearance, the aircraft was about one mile northwest of Tyee Spit, a frequently used alternate water landing site for company aircraft when weather conditions preclude landing at Campbell River airport. At 1906, after passing Tyee Spit, the aircraft turned southbound and flew directly toward the airport. At about 2.5 miles from the airport, at 19:07:40, the aircraft turned right to a heading of approximately 310 degrees magnetic and flew in that general direction for about two minutes. The aircraft was on a track approximately parallel to the extended runway centre line, tracking outbound from the airport with the localizer and the Campbell River (YBL) non-directional beacon (NDB) to the left. The aircraft passed abeam the YBL NDB, which serves as the final approach fix (FAF) for the ILS approach to runway 11, and continued outbound. At 19:09:40, at about three miles outside the beacon, the aircraft turned left to a southerly heading toward the localizer and the YBL NDB. At 19:10:08, the pilot radioed that he was seven miles northwest; this was the last transmission received from the aircraft. At 19:10:25, radar contact was lost. ## Impact and Casualties The aircraft crashed into the northwest side of a 1,047-foot mountain at about the 860-foot level, in straight-and-level flight on a heading of 183 degrees magnetic. The pilot and seven of the passengers received fatal injuries. The two remaining passengers received serious injuries. The accident occurred at 1910 PDT during the hours of official daylight, at latitude 50 degrees 01'N, longitude 125 degrees 22'W. Official sunset in Campbell River was at 1908, and night was at 1940 PDT.