NIPIGON, Ont. — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released the first photo from the scene of a recent helicopter crash in the Nipigon area.
The pilot of the Bell 214ST suffered serious injuries after the chopper went out of control at 3,000 feet while returning from a forest fire on June 7.
The photo released Tuesday was taken by TSB investigators.
It shows the badly-damaged helicopter lying on its side with the rotors apparently detached.
In a brief statement, the board says the field phase of the investigation is complete.
The steps in this phase include:
- secure and examine the occurrence site
- examine and photograph the equipment, vehicle or wreckage
- interview witnesses and company and government personnel
- select and remove wreckage for further examination
- review documentation.
The investigation team will now proceed to the classification stage, in which it will determine the TSB's level of effort and investment in the investigation, the investigation process, the type of report to be produced, and the target timeline.
The helicopter was operated by Helicopter Transport Services (Canada) of Carp, Ontario and was conducting firefighting operations for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.
