A 2021 helicopter crash on Bowen Island that left one Bell 212 totaled but two local pilots miraculously survived was caused by helicopter “environmental conditions” and “system limitations,” according to an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). The Airspan Helicopters Ltd. based in Sechelt headed to Cypress Provincial Park that day – March 5, 2021 – where he was performing work for BC Hydro. There were no passengers and the helicopter was not carrying cargo. The weather was “favorable for severe mechanical turbulence, lee waves and low-level wind shear along the helicopter’s flight path,” the TSB statement said on July 28, 2022. The pilots were aware of the conditions, but based on an improved forecast, wanting to complete the flight and noting that other aircraft were operating out of Sechelt Airport, they decided to continue, TSB said. The flight took off from Sechelt Airport at approximately 9:35 am. Ten minutes later, traveling about two nautical miles from Bowen, the helicopter entered a section of severe turbulence, which resulted in a loss of control and “excessive flapping of the main rotor blades,” the statement said. The main rotor blades sheared off the tail rotor drive shaft, so there was a loss of “rotor thrust and yaw control”. The pilots regained control, but the Bell 212’s extreme attitude (it was inverted or nearly inverted, the report said) during that first loss of control likely caused a hydraulic system malfunction and caused one engine to shut down, the release explained. The flight controls became difficult to operate and the pilots chose a large field on nearby Bowen Island for an emergency landing. As the helicopter slowed for landing, the lack of tail rotor thrust (because the drive shaft had been cut, which the pilots were unaware of) caused it to lose yaw control and the helicopter began a rapid right spin. After several spins, the helicopter struck trees and came to rest upside down on a rocky ridge in the Mount Gardner area (northwest corner) of Bowen, according to the report. Photographs of the incident showed the fuselage resting against a large tree at the edge of the cliff. While both pilots were injured, they walked away from the crash. The investigation found that the pilots’ flight helmets and four-point seat belts reduced the severity of their injuries and they were able to get out of the helicopter quickly. At the time of the crash, there was consensus among first responders that the pilots were two of the luckiest to go — the Bowen Island Fire Department thought they would be witnessing a much grimmer scene. “But the two of them were just sitting there. And there were a couple of small cuts on their hands and that’s about it,” Bowen Island Undercurrent Deputy Island Fire Chief said at the time. Paul Tosczak, owner and operator of Airspan Helicopters, was one of two pilots in the helicopter. While the experience was awful, she is now also grateful for the gift of perspective she gained. “It was a terrible thing. I hope it never happens,” Tosczak said in an interview on July 28 after the report was released. “[But] it made me a better person, a better owner-operator, a better pilot, and a more experienced or well-organized person. “Talk to older guys in the aviation community, they’re like, ‘Paul, you got a lifetime experience in three minutes.’ Airspan temporarily suspended operations following the incident and conducted an internal safety investigation, according to the TSB statement, and took steps to mitigate future incidents. The biggest change is that the company will no longer fly in predicted severe turbulence or bad weather, Tosczak said.
