WEEK 19
H2F brings you the ‘helicopter mayday of the week’ with a short accident report summary. I tell you what happened. You think more about why it happened. We all learn from it. Because that’s what accident reporting is for.
TITLE
Collision with terrain in snowy degraded visual environment on frozen lake.
WHAT?
Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) involving a Bell 206 during a VFR positioning flight from Goose Bay to Pangnirtung. The helicopter impacted the frozen surface of Lewis Lake while attempting a precautionary landing in deteriorating weather. The pilot survived with minor injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged.
WHERE?
Approximately 75 NM north of Goose Bay Airport, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
WHEN?
2 May 2024. Final investigation report released 25 March 2025.
HOW?
The helicopter departed under Special VFR after assessing the route as suitable despite marginal weather. Flying at approximately 300 ft AGL, the pilot encountered worsening snowfall and visibility, made two attempts to divert toward better conditions, then elected to conduct a precautionary landing. During the final approach, degraded visual cues over the featureless snow-covered lake led to a misjudgement of height above the surface, and the helicopter struck the ice and rolled inverted. The investigation found no aircraft system malfunction.
CONDITIONS?
Forecasts indicated marginal VFR conditions with widespread light snow, ceilings of 500–800 ft AGL, and localized visibility as low as 2 SM. Actual conditions deteriorated to less than ½ SM visibility in snowfall, requiring prolonged low-level flight over snow-covered terrain with limited visual references. The pilot did not hold an instrument rating but had extensive helicopter experience and reduced-visibility training. The helicopter was operating above its maximum take-off weight, terrain alerts had been disabled, and available portable situational awareness equipment was not in use.
OUTCOME?
The pilot escaped with minor injuries. The helicopter sustained substantial damage. Investigators found no evidence of mechanical failure. Following the accident, the operator enhanced simulator-based reduced-visibility decision-making training and introduced first-flight readiness checks for satellite communication equipment.
WHY?
The accident illustrates how deteriorating environmental conditions can erode a pilot’s visual references and decision-making margins. Continued VFR flight into worsening visibility, combined with the visual illusion created by a featureless snow-covered landing area, resulted in loss of accurate height perception during the landing approach.
From a human factors perspective, the occurrence highlights the influence of plan continuation bias, the gradual normalisation of increasing risk, and the limitations of human visual perception in degraded visual environments.
The report reinforces the importance of making conservative weather decisions early, before safety margins are exhausted, and of using all available technological and procedural defences to support situational awareness.
REFERENCE?
Transportation Safety Board of Canada. (2025). Air transportation safety investigation report A24A0019: Collision with terrain—Custom Helicopters Ltd., Bell 206L (helicopter), C-FYHN, Goose Bay Airport (CYYR), Newfoundland and Labrador, 75 NM N, 02 May 2024. Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
Note:
Accident reports selected from the following open source databases: US NTSB; UK AAIB; Flight Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Network; Australia’s ATSB. Ireland’s AAIU; Taiwan’s TTSB; France’s BEA; Spain’s CIAIAC. Germany’s BFU.
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