An investigation has found that the weather and mechanical state of the aircraft were not factors in a plane crash that killed the pilot in front of horrified spectators at a 2016 air show in northern Alberta.
“No outstanding defects were noted in the maintenance or aircraft logbooks,” the Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Friday.
“The aircraft had been operated within its weight-and-balance and design limits.”
Calgary-based pilot Bruce Evans was performing an aerobatic routine with his T-28B Trojan aircraft at the Cold Lake Air Show on July 17, 2016, when something went wrong.
The plane hit the ground vertically at high speed, killing Evans and destroying the plane on impact. There was no fire, and no air show personnel or spectators were injured.
The accident happened on the second day of the airshow, with light winds and just a few clouds at higher elevations. The report notes that “weather conditions were not considered a factor in the accident”.
A composite of two photographs taken three minutes apart. The upper portion shows the plane just prior to impact, the lower portion was taken during the emergency response. (Trish Hartman/TSB)
A list of the aerobatic manoeuvres to be performed were submitted in advance to the air show operator, the report said.
However, the pilot modified a slow roll manoeuvre planned for about halfway into the performance, it said.
“As the aircraft reached the inverted position, the roll stopped and the nose began to pitch toward the ground.”
The report did not suggest that the modification was a factor in the crash, noting that “such alterations are acceptable provided that they are consistent with the manoeuvres in the planned routine.”
Evans an experienced pilot
Evans had accumulated 4,043 flying hours and had performed his routine the day before, on the first day of the annual air show at CFB Cold Lake, about 300 km northeast of Edmonton.
He had practised the routine on two dates prior to the air show, the first time for just under one hour, and for 1.5 hours the second time.
Bruce Evans was preforming at CFB Cold Lake when his plane went down on Sunday, July 17, 2016. (Facebook)
Although it was the pilot’s first show of the season, he had participated in several events in 2015 without any problems, the report says.
Evans, 59, was born in Marville, France, where his father was stationed with the Royal Canadian Air Force.
According to his Cold Lake Air Show bio, Evans developed an interest in aviation from an early age. In 2007, he purchased his T-28B Trojan — the plane he was flying at the time of the crash.
He went to Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., where he would commute from his hometown of North Bay, Ont., in a Cessna 172 aircraft.
A geologist by trade, Evans was the president and CEO of Firefly Airborne Surveys. The company provided airborne surveys for the mineral and oil and gas sectors, government agencies and special interest groups.