Safety board calls for changes after fatal 2021 Nunavut helicopter crash

By The Canadian Press on February 15, 2024.

OTTAWA – The Transportation Safety Board is calling for improvements after an investigation into a deadly helicopter crash in Nunavut.

The helicopter went down in 2021 on a trip to survey polar bear populations on Griffith Island, about 20 kilometres southwest of Resolute Bay, Nvt.

Two crew members and a wildlife biologist were killed.

The safety board says Transport Canada needs to ensure pilots have better training for flying in whiteout conditions.

It also says the government should require operators to install equipment on aircraft that would help pilots orient themselves in poor weather.

Kathy Fox, chair of the board, says investigators have been calling for such changes for 30 years.

She says Canada should follow the lead of U.S. regulators who have brought in similar requirements.

Transport Canada did not immediately respond to the board’s report.

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