(Richmond) The crash of a small Air Nootka plane on Vancouver Island last year has reignited the debate between the Transportation Safety Board and the federal government over stall warning systems.
The pilot of the de Havilland aircraft, the only person on board, was seriously injured when his floatplane stalled and crashed into dense forest while attempting to land on a body of water near Gold River, British Columbia.
A Transportation Safety Board (TSB) report indicates that some types of aircraft still in commercial operation are not equipped with stall warning systems, including the DHC-2, or “Beaver”, seaplane.
The Air Nootka plane did not have such a warning system, and the report says the TSB has investigated 17 Beaver floatplane stalls and crashes over the past 25 years, resulting in at least 38 deaths.
The TSB says it recommended to Transport Canada in 2017 that all commercial aircraft be equipped with stall warning systems, but the government later said it would not impose the requirement.
Transport Canada maintains that during a stall, the pilot has little or no time to react and recover, even with a warning system. The TSB does not agree with this conclusion.
The Bureau’s report, released Monday, states that “the audible, and sometimes visual, warning of an imminent stall emitted by a stall warning system is one of the last remaining defense mechanisms against accidental stalls.”
“To reduce the risk of loss of control of an aircraft, the pilot must be given an immediate and clear indication of an impending stall,” the report reads.
The report adds that until Transport Canada implements new measures to reduce the risk of stall-related accidents, the TSB believes that the risks associated with safety deficiencies persist.
The “safety message” contained in the report emphasizes that aircraft without stall warning systems that were originally certified may well be retrofitted with them.
“Stall warning systems can reduce the risks to which pilots are exposed when conducting manoeuvres at high angles of attack, such as during arrival and departure,” the TSB states.