Incident Details
On the day of the accident, a Piper PA-31 (registration C-FQQB, serial number 31-310) operated by Exact Air Inc. was conducting its second magnetometric survey flight from Schefferville Airport, Quebec, under visual flight rules. At 1336 Eastern Daylight Time, the aircraft took off and proceeded toward the survey area located 90 nautical miles northwest of the airport. After completing survey work at an altitude of 300 feet above ground level (AGL), the aircraft began the return flight to Schefferville. During the return, the aircraft descended and flew over terrain at altitudes varying between 100 and 40 feet AGL.
At 1756, while flying over railway tracks, the aircraft struck power transmission line conductor cables and crashed on top of a mine tailings deposit approximately 3.5 nautical miles northwest of Schefferville Airport. The accident occurred during daylight hours. No fire ensued after impact, and no emergency locator transmitter signal was captured.
Probable Cause
The official investigation identified the following causes and contributing factors: Sensation seeking, mental fatigue, and an altered risk perception very likely contributed to the pilot flying descending to an altitude between 100 and 40 feet AGL immediately after completing survey work and maintaining that altitude until the collision. It is highly likely the pilots were unaware of the presence of the power transmission line. The pilot flying did not detect the line in time to avoid it; the wires were 70 feet above ground. Despite a warning regarding low-altitude flying in the Transport Canada Aeronautical Information Manual and the absence of minimum-altitude restrictions imposed by the company, the pilot chose to descend to a very low altitude on the return flight, carrying an unacceptable level of risk.
Additional Findings
The investigation also noted several risk-related findings: low-altitude flight increases the risk of wire strikes due to poor visibility of wires; lack of lightweight flight data recording systems may allow deviations from procedures; Transport Canada's inaction on facilitating such systems may hinder proactive safety deficiency identification; absence of required safety management systems may reduce hazard mitigation; not wearing safety belts increases injury risk; and current ELT antenna design standards lacking crashworthiness may delay search and rescue.