The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the impact of an ultralight plane crash last year northwest of Fredericton was “not survivable.”
The safety board released its finding today on the crash that occurred on July 19, 2024, involving the small aircraft with a single person on board, who was killed.
It says the aircraft’s electric motor, which came from a motorcycle, was capable of producing up to 52 kilowatts of power and had a battery life of about 70 minutes.
The report says a bolt was found at the wreckage site — in a cornfield 25 kilometres northwest of Fredericton — but the matching nut was missing, possibly making it difficult to control the aircraft.
Wreckage of an ultralight aircraft, with aircraft control elements, specifically the push tube rod end and control column bellcrank, circled, is seen in an undated handout photo which appears in the TSB investigation report. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-TSB, Uttam Bhandari.
GAC
The ultralight crashed about 45 minutes after the pilot took off at 10:42 a.m. from Weyman Airpark.
The safety board says ultralights are operated without a certificate of airworthiness, meaning that the design, construction, and maintenance are not subject to oversight by Transport Canada.
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It is the owner’s responsibility to maintain the aircraft so that it is safe for flight, the agency says, adding that ultralight pilots must wear a helmet — protection that the pilot in the crash was not equipped with.
“The aircraft impacted terrain in a steep nose-down attitude. From the leading edge of the wings forward, the aircraft was crushed,” the report says. “The impact was not survivable.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 5, 2025.
