The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has issued its report into a fatal plane crash that happened in the mountains near Chilliwack Lake last spring.
While no specific cause of the crash was listed, investigators found through available flight data that “several mountain flying best practices were not fully executed.”
Mountain flying guides emphasize that pilots should never position the aircraft in the middle of a valley because it limits their space and time to complete a course reversal.
According to the TSB report, this flight “did not follow this practice.”
Both the student and instructor on board the Cessna 172S airplane, operated by Chinook Helicopters Ltd., were killed when it crashed on April 5, 2025.
It took off from Abbotsford Airport at 12:28 pm and records indicate the planned purpose of the flight was training in the Sumas practice area.
However, the fatal crash happened well east of the Sumas practice area around 1 pm at an elevation of around 4,000 feet above sea level.
The report noted that Chinook Helicopters has taken several safety actions in the wake of the fatal crash, which includes simulator training in mountainous terrain for flight instructors.
To see the entire TSB report into the incident on April 5, 2025, click this link.
