The helicopter that crashed in Jervis Inlet on Oct. 4 has been recovered and an investigation is continuing.
The Kaman K-MAX (K-1200) helicopter was being operated by Black Tusk Helicopters Inc. for heli-logging operations when it crashed into Killam Bay, north of Egmont, around 1:30 p.m., according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
The pilot, who was the only person in the helicopter at the time, was fatally injured. The name of the pilot has not been released. The BC Coroners Service is investigating.
An update about the investigation on the TSB website said the helicopter was located eight days after it went into the water, after the initial search was unsuccessful. The aircraft was found 150 metres west of the initial collision site, at a depth of approximately 110 metres.
On Oct. 18, TSB investigators and the Sunshine Coast RCMP went to the site of the incident to oversee the helicopter as it was raised by a barge. TSB investigators removed “critical pieces from the instrument panel.” The next day, the aircraft was transported on a tractor trailer to the TSB wreckage examination facility.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
At the time of the crash, the helicopter was transporting logs from a cutblock to an ocean pen located 0.6 nautical miles northwest. Around one minute after the helicopter left the cutblock, workers at the site heard a loud noise from the direction of the ocean pen. When the pilot could not be reached by radio, a company support helicopter was sent to search the area, where it found debris and a sheen on the water. Search and rescue efforts could not locate the first helicopter at the time, but recovered portions of its rotor blades.
Kaman K-MAX helicopters are often used for external load operations because they can lift up to 2,722 kg, more than their own weight. According to a press release from the Kaman Corporation earlier this year, the new medium-to-heavy lift K-MAX helicopter was delivered to Black Tusk Helicopter Inc. in Squamish in March 2021.
Black Tusk Helicopter Inc. did not respond to Coast Reporter’s request for comment.
