EDMONTON -- A fatal plane crash at a fall fair in northern Alberta was not caused by inclement weather or mechanical failure, according to a newly released report from the Transportation Safety Board.
The privately registered Nanchang CJ6A, a two-seater propeller-driven trainer aircraft built in China, was taking part in the 2019 Smith Hondo Fall Fair when it crashed Aug. 31, 2019.
Smith is a hamlet located about 180 kilometres north of Edmonton.
According to the TSB report, the plane was one of two granted a special flight operations certificate (SFOC) to participate in the airshow, and investigators found the show was performed "in accordance with the limitations and requirements of the SFOC."
After the show concluded just after noon, the pilot, who has not been identified, departed the airshow area and turned east.
"At 1208, the aircraft was observed doing a rolling manoeuvre and impacted the ground in a wooded area," about one nautical mile east of Smith.
The pilot was fatally injured and the plane was destroyed on impact.
A weather report shows that there were calm winds and good visibility with no clouds prior to the crash.
A GPS recovered at the crash site was sent out for analysis. It showed that the plane was in the air for about 44 minutes, and its final data point indicated the plane was 541 feet above ground level travelling at 118 miles per hour.
The aircraft crashed at a 65-degree nose-down angle, according to the plane's attitude indicator.
"The nature of the impact was not survivable. The flight control systems, engine, propeller, and flight instruments that were examined did not exhibit any failure that would have prevented normal operation," investigator Mike Adam wrote.
The plane was certified and maintained up-to-code and operated within weight and balance limits.
The pilot had a commercial licence but TSB said it's not known how many flight hours he logged because he had not kept recent records. He had 4006.8 hours logged as of May 23, 2016.
