What happened
A scheduled visual flight rules (VFR) flight traveling from Tofino toward Vancouver crashed in mountainous terrain approximately 5 km west of Mt Hooper. The aircraft, a single-engine plane, was operating with one pilot and 10 passengers at the time of the accident. While cruising southwest of Nanaimo, the aircraft encountered weather conditions characterized by a cloud ceiling of 2,800 feet.
As the flight proceeded into a valley, the pilot initiated a steep right turn of approximately 45 degrees. During this maneuver, the plane struck trees and crashed in the hilly region. The impact resulted in the total destruction of the aircraft and 11 fatalities.
Findings
The investigation determined that the pilot entered the valley at an altitude lower than usual because of the low cloud ceiling and the expectation that a mountain pass would be navigable. Upon reaching the area, the pilot began a turn immediately. Because the aircraft was maintaining a high cruise speed without the use of flaps, the turning radius was significantly larger than required to navigate the terrain, which necessitated a much wider 250-degree turn to exit the valley.
To prevent an aerodynamic stall during this maneuver, the pilot lowered the nose of the plane. This action caused the aircraft to lose altitude, ultimately leading to the impact with the ground after the aircraft had completed 250 degrees of its turn.