Waterbomber pilots likely won't be disciplined for crash: Transportation minister says department dealing with number of issues in Transportation Safety Board of Canada report

The crew of a waterbomber that crashed in a Labrador lake last summer likely won't be disciplined, says the province's transportation minister.

That's despite a Transportation Safety Board report that pointed to pilot error as a key cause.

Neither the pilot nor co-pilot was injured in the July 3, 2013 incident on Moosehead Lake, but the $30-million aircraft was destroyed and sank to the bottom. The TSB report said the waterbomber crashed because too much water was scooped up from the lake and it was too heavy to take off again.

The three-year-old plane was helping fight last summer's forest fires in the area, which had destroyed cabins and was threatening the towns of Wabush and Labrador City.

The report focused on switches that open and close doors on the belly of the waterbomber, where the water is sucked in and later dumped on fires.

Overloaded

It said a switch was inadvertently moved to the "manual" position before the flight, leaving the crew to close the doors themselves once they had a safe amount of water on board. But the report said the crew was distracted by other duties and didn't realize they were overloaded until it was too late.

The TSB said one of those distractions was extreme stress on the pilot, who was going through a difficult personal crisis at the time. In fact, he had taken a "particularly distressing" call about the situation a few hours before the crash.

The co-pilot was aware of the crisis, and the pair discussed whether to make the flight, but in the end decided to go ahead with it.

According to the TSB report, "(The pilot) had considered taking a leave of absence, but in light of the (threat posed by the forest fires), had continued working. The pilot's level of distraction due to the effects of chronic stress created a situation in which errors were more likely to occur."

The report noted there is an employee assistance program that employees can avail of, but "doing so is acknowledged to be a significant and potentially intimidating step to take."

Transportation Minister Nick McGrath says efforts have been made to change that impression.

"We certainly recognize how important it is that they be on the top shelf while they're doing their job," he said. "Hopefully, they will exercise the usage of that program because it is very important, like I said, that they be in their best form when they're performing their jobs."

The report also highlighted problems with training, flight checklists and other issues outside the pilots' control.

McGrath said given all the circumstances, the crew likely won't be punished.

"I don't think there's any disciplinary action to be taken here," he said.

"It's something that we will discuss in the department and certainly as a government will discuss. But I feel that after reading the report and the results that come out through the report, that the government is taking the right steps. And I guess I'm an optimist and I've always believed if there's a problem, find a solution.

The waterbomber that crashed has since been replaced with a new one.

- Source:  http://www.cbc.ca

Canadair CL-415, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Air Services, C-FIZU: Accident occurred July 03, 2013 in Moosehead Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Summary: On 03 July 2013, at about 1415 Atlantic Daylight Time, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Air Services Division Bombardier CL-415 amphibious aircraft (registration C‑FIZU, serial number 2076), operating as Tanker 286, departed Wabush, Newfoundland and Labrador, to fight a nearby forest fire. Shortly after departure, Tanker 286 touched down on Moosehead Lake to scoop a load of water. About 40 seconds later, the captain initiated a left‑hand turn and almost immediately lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft water-looped and came to rest upright but partially submerged. The flight crew exited the aircraft and remained on the top of the wing until rescued by boat. There was an insufficient forward impact force to activate the onboard 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitter. There were no injuries to the 2 crew members. The aircraft was destroyed. The accident occurred during daylight hours.

Accident Report:  http://www.tsb.gc.ca