‘Several factors’ played into gondola crash at BC Interior ski resort: report

It’s been nearly a year since a gondola crashed with eight people inside at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.

The cabin hanger arm of the gondola broke shortly before it left the loading station on March 10, 2025, resulting in a fall of around six feet and only minor injuries.

Earlier this week, Technical Safety BC published its report following an investigation into the incident, which included recommendations for the industry moving forward.

“The investigation found that the primary cause of the incident was an unidentified crack that progressed within a brittle area of the hanger arm after experiencing significant abrupt forces, such as striking the station structure during operation,” the report explained.

“Contributing factors included low material toughness in the bend of the hanger arm, the gondola station setup and the intended inspection processes not identifying the crack before the hanger arm fractured.”

Ryan Hazlett, Technical Safety BC’s leader of incident investigations, pointed out that gondolas and other passenger ropeways operate safely each and every day at ski hills in BC and beyond.

“In this instance, several factors converged to result in this unlikely failure,” he explained. “Regardless, we understand one incident of this severity is too many and that’s why we’ve issued specific recommendations to the industry to further reduce the risk of this happening again.”

Based on the findings of the investigation, Technical Safety BC issued the following three recommendations to manufacturers, owners and operators of gondolas:

• For manufacturers of ropeways and ropeway components: It is recommended that manufacturers select and process materials so that the final product will have appropriate cold weather fracture toughness properties.
• To manufacturers of above surface passenger ropeways: The investigation identified that the material selection and processing made the hanger arm vulnerable to occurrences like impacts. It is recommended that manufacturers identify where their process could have increased this risk, and where mitigations for continued safe operation may need to be implemented.
• To owners and operators of passenger ropeways in BC: When serious carrier impacts occur, like the ones leading up to this incident, we’re recommending that owners and operators of passenger ropeways be proactive by removing the carrier from service to thoroughly inspect all components in accordance with the most recent manufacturer’s instructions.