WINNIPEG -- The Transportation Safety Board says a Manitoba plane crash that killed a pilot two years ago was caused by overloading and ice buildup on the wings.
An investigation into the November 2012 crash in a remote area near Snow Lake found the pilot didn't clear ice from critical surfaces on the plane. Peter Hildebrand, safety board manager, said the pilot knocked some of the ice off with a broomstick before takeoff but some remained.
The safety board found the plane was also flying almost 275 kilograms overweight.
"If you overload your aircraft and if you fly with ice on the leading edge of your wings, then you are really increasing the risk," Hildebrand said Thursday. "Each one of those factors is a risk already. If you combine them, that increases the risk dramatically."
Investigators also found that passengers were not given a safety briefing before takeoff, so they were not properly seated or wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
"If there is a sudden stop or there is a crash ... then those passenger restraints will not be operating properly and the passengers will move in the cabin," Hildebrand said. "That would have increased the severity of injury to the passengers."
The seven passengers were seriously injured in the crash, about 700 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.
It occurred shortly after takeoff from Snow Lake on a flight carrying mining employees to Winnipeg.
"Ice remained on the leading edges of the wings and tail before the flight," the investigation found. "As a result, shortly after departure, the aircraft stalled at an altitude from which recovery was not possible."
