The Canadian Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has suggested that all commercially operated de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver type aircraft should be equipped with a stall warning system.
TSB has also urged Transport Canada to make its suggestion mandatory for Beaver-type aircraft operating commercially in the country.
The recommendation was given after completing an investigation of a floatplane crash that occurred in August 2015 near Tadoussac, Quebec, Canada.
Taking place during a sightseeing flight, the incident destroyed the aircraft and fatally injured all the six occupants.
During its investigation into the incident, TSB found that the pilot made a low-altitude turn that leads to an aerodynamic stall and caused the aircraft to enter a spin, where the aircraft rotates and descends vertically.
TSB noted that a spin does not cause an accident if it occurs at a sufficient altitude for the pilot to regain control of the aircraft.
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By GlobalDataTSB chair Kathy Fox said: “In this accident, the aircraft had no stall warning system.
“Despite the pilot's considerable experience, and even though he was an instructor on this aircraft type, he did not perceive that a stall was imminent when he made the turn.”
Canada currently has 382 registered DHC-2 aircraft, of which 223 are used in commercial operations.
Fox added: “A stall warning system on board all commercially operated de Havilland DHC-2 aircraft will give pilots and passengers a last defence against this type of loss of control.”
In 2013, TSB recommended Transport Canada to facilitate the installation of lightweight flight data recorders on sightseeing planes to help the service providers to monitor how their aircraft are being flown.
