Transportation Safety Board report says pilots in mid-air crash that killed 4 people probably didn’t see each other: Cessna 150F, C-FSQQ and Stemme S10-VT, C-FHAB

The Transportation Safety Board says the pilots of a glider and a Cessna likely didn’t see each other because of blind spots and other visual problems, setting off a mid-air crash that left four people dead.

The crash and the fire that followed happened on June 29, 2013, just above a provincial campground west of Pemberton.

No one on the ground was hurt, but glider pilot Rudy Rozsypalek and his passenger Mohnish Paul died, and Terence Gale, his wife Rita Turnbull and their dog were killed in the Cessna.

The TSB report said the glider was descending into the path of the Cessna, and because the glider pilot sits in a semi-reclined position behind the nose of the craft, visibility would have been limited.

The report said the white glider, with thin-profile wings, would have been difficult for the Cessna pilot to see against a backdrop of white cumulus clouds until it was too late to avoid a crash.

There’s no requirement for Canadian private aircraft to be equipped with collision avoidance systems, and the report said that poses several risks, including a limited field of vision and blind spots.

- Source:  http://www.theprovince.com

 (Photo courtesy David Buzzard) 

Blind spots caused planes to collide mid-air: TSB 
 
VANCOUVER - An investigation into why two planes collided in mid-air over Pemberton, B.C., last year has found both pilots were in each other's blind spots and wouldn't have had time for emergency maneuvers until the last moments before collision.

Four people and a dog died in the collision that scattered debris over a campsite below, according to Mounties at the time of the crash.

The Transportation Safety Board said in its report on Thursday it was clear skies during the noon-hour on June 29, 2013, and winds were calm.

Visibility, however, was the biggest problem due to the positioning of the planes at the time, according to the TSB's findings.

One of the planes, a glider, was a sightseeing flight and was likely descending on top of the Cessna, which was a private flight heading from Lillooet, B.C., to Nanaimo, B.C., according to the findings.

"A glider's pilot and passenger sit in a semi-reclined position behind the instrument panel and nose cone. Visibility forward and below the nose cone is limited," the findings said.

The Cessna pilot, meanwhile, would've been primarily scanning "downwards," and additionally, the investigation found, the Cessna pilot was "probably wearing a baseball-type cap with a sun visor" that would've made seeing a white-colored glider above difficult, especially with white clouds in the background.

The findings said it's possible the Cessna pilot saw the oncoming glider just before the crash - but there wasn't enough time.

"The right wings and other pieces from both aircraft were shorn off in mid-air during the collision, rendering both aircraft uncontrollable, and the subsequent collision with terrain was not survivable," the TSB said.

According to the TSB, it takes a pilot and plane about 12 seconds to react to a visual threat.

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