Rush file photo
Whitehorse, YT – A new investigation report from the Transportation Safety Board says a faulty sensor and increased pilot stress led to a crash involving an RCMP aircraft at the Whitehorse airport last year.
The April 2023 crash involved a Pilatus PC-12 bound Yellowknife, with a single RCMP pilot on board. Shortly after takeoff, a malfunction triggered a false stall warning and activated the aircraft’s stick shaker.
Investigators say the warning — which stayed on for the entire flight — created a major distraction and caused the pilot to experience “attentional narrowing” under stress.
The plane eventually struck the ground while maneuvering to land, with the pilot seriously injured.
The RCMP have since updated its training for stall warning emergencies and reviewed technical issues in its PC-12 fleet.
