Pilot not fully aware of plane modifications in deadly 2013 float plane crash, TSB says

The Transportation Safety Board said that the pilot involved in a deadly 2013 float plane crash in northern B.C. did not fully understand the modifications that had been made to the plane he was flying.

Pilot Kevin Williams and two passengers died when the Cessna C-185E plane crashed into a small island in Potts Lagoon, just east of Port McNeill, B.C. The plane was supposed to land on the waters near West Cracroft Island, but instead it crashed into some trees and burst into flames. 

The investigation found that four modifications to the aircraft — though approved — meant that the plane reacted differently than the pilot would have normally experienced during takeoff and landing. 

"While manoeuvring for landing on water, the aircraft experienced an accelerated aerodynamic stall while being flown at an altitude from which recovery was not possible," the TSB said in a statement released on Wednesday. 

TSB board member Joseph Hincke explained the pilot may have been flying slower than he should have been with the modifications.

"Our concern is that there isn't a systematic process by which multiple modifications that are put on aircrafts are fully evaluated for compatibility and interaction," Hincke said, adding that Transport Canada requires all modifications to be evaluated for that. 

“Pilots need accurate information on how an aircraft will fly after modifications have been made to it,” he said. 

“We are concerned that this information is not available consistently and that accidents will continue to occur as a consequence.”