A crash that claimed the life of a Vancouver Island helicopter pilot during logging operations last year was caused by a manufacturing defect in the engine, according to federal investigators.
Brent Fedirchuk, a husband and father of a teenage son, was killed on impact when the Hughes helicopter he was piloting alone crashed in the Naka Creek area near Sayward on April 6, 2022.
The Port Alberni pilot died at the scene on his 50th birthday.
The Transportation Safety Board said in a report released Thursday that shortly after releasing a bundle of cedar blocks, the helicopter experienced engine failure.
Fedirchuk, an experienced pilot working for Kestrel Helicopters, managed to broadcast a distress call at 9:09 a.m., but within a few seconds, the helicopter crashed.
The TSB said the engine failure was caused by gaps that formed in an engine compressor during manufacturing that went undetected with existing inspection methods.
The affected compressor wheel eventually failed after two separate fatigue and stress-related fractures, resulting in catastrophic engine failure.
Investigators determined the engine failure happened moments after the helicopter had released a load of cedar blocks from a 180-foot longline, and that the helicopter likely had insufficient height and forward speed to conduct a successful auto-rotation.
“As a result, the helicopter impacted the terrain with significant vertical speed,” the TSB report said. “If single-engine helicopters routinely operate with unsafe height and airspeed combinations, the likelihood of a successful landing after an engine failure is significantly reduced.”
Rolls-Royce Corporation, the engine manufacturer, re-issued a service letter on May 18 that includes a recommendation that its customers convert the compressor to the new wheel design during the next overhaul.
Fedirchuk was born and raised in Port Alberni and was described by one of his many friends as one of the “best in the business” when it came to flying helicopters.
Paul Robertson said Fedirchuk worked the green chain pulling off cedar at the Somas Mill as a 20-year-old, but knew he wanted to sling cedar by helicopter.
“Brent saved his money, got his pilot’s licence and had been flying ever since,” said Robertson. “I had flown with him many times over the years and he was skilled and always safe.”
Fedirchuk first worked as a co-pilot for Transwest Helicopters and then a pilot at Prism Helicopters, flying throughout 小蓝视频 and Alaska. He started working for Parksville-based Kestrel Helicopters in 2007, where he developed his skills as a shake-block pilot.
Fedirchuk also piloted helicopters fighting forest fires in 2019 and 2020, said Robertson.
He was named Port Alberni’s volunteer of the year in 2016 and a board member of Funtastic, a local group that organized sporting events.
