Crash that killed 4 Hydro One workers took place as helicopter prepared to land: TSB

Hydro One Toronto head office (Photo By Raysonho @ Open Grid Scheduler / Grid Engine – Own work, CC0)

TORONTO— Investigators say a helicopter crash that killed four Hydro One workers in eastern Ontario this week happened as the chopper was approaching to land.

The Transportation Safety Board says it has obtained initial statements from witnesses to Thursday’s fatal crash in Tweed, Ont. but still must examine maintenance records, pilot training and several other factors.

The agency says the chopper did not have a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder, which it was not required to carry. It says its team has, however, recovered a GPS, which will help in the investigation.

Meanwhile, Hydro One says its eight helicopters will not operate until a thorough review of safety protocols and equipment is complete.

CEO Mayo Schmidt says the measure is standard procedure after any serious workplace incident.

None of the four men on board the Aerospatiale AS350-B2 chopper survived after the helicopter went down shortly before noon Thursday in Tweed, Ont., about 90 kilometres northwest of Kingston, Ont.

Hydro One said the crew had been completing work on a transmission tower.

“It is a time of emotion and shock for all of us at the company,” Schmidt said, adding that there was no timeline for when the utility’s helicopter fleet would go back to work.

The company held candlelight vigils at its offices across the province Friday morning and said most ground crews would be standing down from their jobs until Monday. Workers will still respond to any reports of power outages, it said.

“We are not going to leave people without power,” Schmidt noted. “No one will have to wait any longer than normal if there is a loss of power in their community or their area.”

The company is supporting employees and families affected by the crash with a wide range of services, including grief counselling, 24-hour hotlines and help making funeral arrangements, Schmidt said.

“As we always do, our family at Hydro One has pulled together,” he said, adding that teams have been dispatched to assist affected family members.

The names of those who died have not been released.

The Power Workers Union said one of the workers killed had been one of its members, while the three other employees were members of the Canadian Union of Skilled Workers.

Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board are leading the probe into the crash. Hydro One said it had sent specialists to help the TSB with its work.

The TSB said investigators would be looking at a wide range of factors to determine a possible cause of the crash, including pilot records, aircraft maintenance records and aircraft history.

The single-engine AS350 is a utility helicopter often used for corporate purposes and by police.

Hydro One has four of those choppers in its fleet, as well as three Airbus AS350-B3 helicopters and one Airbus AS355-NP.

In July 2007, the same model clipped a guy wire in northern Ontario and crashed, seriously injuring a Hydro One worker and the pilot. And in January 2015, an AS350 crashed in Saskatchewan during hydro cable stringing, seriously injuring the pilot. In both cases, pilot error was to blame.