Investigation unable to determine reason behind fatal 2023 plane crash

Plane crash at Beaverhill Lake in 2023. (Transportation Safety Board of Canada)

A report released Wednesday by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) into the 2023 plane crash that killed a student pilot and flying instructor was unable to determine the cause of the crash.

On Aug. 11, a Cooking Lake Aviation Academy student and his instructor were flying in the Beaverhill Lake practice area around 5:45 p.m.

• 1 dead, 1 seriously injured as plane crashes into Beaverhill Lake east of Edmonton

Flight recording data from the plane showed that the pair were practicing spin recoveries, which was the planned exercise for the flight.

The plane recorded starting and successfully recovering from one spin, which the TSB believes was “likely demonstrated by the flight instructor.”

During the second spin, which was started from a height the TSB said “should have been recoverable from,” the student and the pilot were not able to recover and the plane hit the surface of Beaverhill Lake.

The wreckage was found shortly after midnight on Aug. 12.

• Second person dies after plane crash east of Edmonton

The flight instructor, identified by colleagues in 2023 as Alex Lanovaz, was declared dead on scene. The student was taken to hospital by STARS in serious condition.

“I can just imagine how terrifying it would have been for the survivor to be trapped in a plane, in the water with somebody deceased next to them,” RCMP Cpl. Gina Slaney told CTV News Edmonton in 2023.

The student died two days later from his injuries. The medical examiner determined the accident was not survivable.

There was no indication that the performance of the instructor or student was affected by medical, pathological, or physiological factors, according to the report.

The wreckage of the plane was recovered and examination of the airframe, flight controls and engine showed no anomalies.

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At the time of the crash, there was no documented minimum altitude for practicing spins in the academy manuals, though the normal procedure was to start spin exercises at around 1,219.2 metres (4,000 feet) above ground level (AGL), according to the report.

The first spin began at 1,076.2 metres (3,531 feet) AGL and recovered at 596.1 metres (1,956 feet) AGL.

The second spin began at 771.4 metres (2,531 feet) AGL.

“Student pilots are not expected to perform flight exercises perfectly in their first few attempts. In manoeuvres involving larger altitude losses, such as practice spins, ensuring that a liberal amount of height is available for practice is essential,” the report stated.

“Planning to recover from spin manoeuvres at heights lower than those recommended leaves less time to recover from less than ideal flight control inputs that student pilots may make while learning the techniques for spin entry and recovery.”

“Because flight data was limited and no cockpit voice recorder was available to the investigation, it was not possible to determine the actions of the flight instructor and student pilot, and a precise reason why the second spin recovery was unsuccessful,” added the report.

The emergency locator transmitter on the plane didn’t activate on impact.

The investigation determined that the transmitter was serviceable at the time of the crash, but the connector wiring for the automatic activation function was not installed.

“It is presumed that the wiring had not been installed by the manufacturer during the aircraft assembly,” the TSB wrote.

“As a result, search and rescue crews did not have a precise location for the accident, which required a much larger search area than if the emergency transmitter had activated, increasing the time it took to locate the aircraft.”

In November 2023, Diamond Aircraft Industries Inc., the manufacturer of the plane involved in the crash, called for the inspection of its aircraft to check for and correct improper wiring of ARTEX ELT 1000 emergency locator transmitter systems.

In 2024, the Cooking Lake Aviation Academy revised its flight operations manual with emergency response procedures and formalizing minimum altitudes for upper-air work and spins.