Helicopter crash in Drummondville: a work of complex investigation

Photo Kariane Bourassa
The investigation into the tragic helicopter crash that killed three, Thursday evening, in Drummondville, will be difficult for the investigators of the TSB.

QMI agency

Saturday, February 3, 2018 13:49

UPDATE
Saturday, February 3, 2018 13:54

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DRUMMONDVILLE – The investigation into the tragic helicopter crash that killed three, Thursday evening, in Drummondville, will be difficult for the investigators of the Office of the transportation safety board (TSB).

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VAT News has learned that the collection of data on the site of the accident is completed, which means that the field survey is also completed.

In addition, the housing of the device has been placed in quarantine, taken away and placed in a warehouse. Person may not touch the debris as investigators will not have examined.

The TSB has also already downloaded the weather data for the evening of drama.

André Turenne, an investigator for the pension TSB has conducted dozens of investigations in aeronautics, believes that the loss of references or visual cues is at the root of many an accident.

“If it is a night flight, it has a greater chance of loss of references with the ground. If the night was clear, so it is a visual theft that is reasonable. If there are atmospheric disturbances, we are talking about rain or snow, the pilot embarks in even more difficult circumstances. His reactions, his plan or scheme of training will get them to take the necessary measures,” said Mr. Turenne.

Remember that the driver and two passengers were gone from the Beauce and headed for the Lanaudière region, where they are found in a zone of intense disturbance, at the halfway point of their journey while they were in the Centre-du-Québec.

The three occupants of the private aircraft died instantly following the crash that occurred around 21 h near the rang Saint-Jean-Baptiste, in the area of Saint-Joachim-de-Courval, in Drummondville. The Robinson R-44 caught fire after the impact.

The driver, Jean-Claude Mailhot, 57 years, her daughter Janie Mailhot, 32 years old, and the girlfriend of the latter, Nathalie Desrosiers, 42 years, are the three victims of this tragedy.