The TSB has completed this investigation. The report was published on 28 September 2017.
Icing encounter, loss of control, and collision with terrain
Wasaya Airways Limited Partnership
Cessna 208B, C-FKDL
Pickle Lake, Ontario, 10 nm N
The occurrence
The Wasaya Airways Limited Partnership Cessna 208B Caravan (registration C-FKDL, serial number 208B0240) departed Pickle Lake Airport, Ontario, on 11 December 2015 at 0900 Eastern Standard Time under visual flight rules as flight WSG127 to Angling Lake / Wapekeka Airport, Ontario, with the pilot and a load of cargo on board. At 0908, the flight levelled off at about 4600 feet above sea level. At 0909, WSG127 descended and turned about 120° to the right, then collided with the southeast side of Tarp Hill at an elevation of 1460 feet above sea level. The pilot was fatally injured, and the aircraft was destroyed. There was no post-impact fire. The 406-megahertz emergency locator transmitter activated on impact, but no signal was emitted.
Media materials
News release
Operating in icing conditions led to 2015 loss of control and collision with terrain near Pickle Lake, Ontario
Read the news release
Deployment notice
TSB deploys a team of investigators to a fatal aircraft accident near Pickle Lake, Ontario
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to the site of a fatal accident involving a Wasaya Airways Cessna 208 Caravan near Pickle Lake, Ontario. The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence.
Investigation information
A15C0163
Icing encounter, loss of control, and collision with terrain
Wasaya Airways Limited Partnership
Cessna 208B, C-FKDL
Pickle Lake, Ontario, 10 nm N
Investigator-in-charge
David Ross has been a TSB operations investigator in the Central Region since 1999.
His background includes three years experience as a weather observer, twenty years military service in the Canadian Forces, and one year as a regional airline pilot in western Canada.
Mr. Ross has extensive worldwide air transport flight operations experience and worked as a training pilot, check pilot, and flight operations supervisor.
Mr. Ross holds a current airline transport pilot licence and he has accumulated 7750 hours flight time.
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Class of investigation
This is a class 3 investigation. These investigations analyze a small number of safety issues, and may result in recommendations. Class 3 investigations are generally completed within 450 days. For more information, see the Policy on Occurrence Classification.
TSB investigation process
There are 3 phases to a TSB investigation
- Field phase: a team of investigators examines the occurrence site and wreckage, interviews witnesses and collects pertinent information.
- Examination and analysis phase: the TSB reviews pertinent records, tests components of the wreckage in the lab, determines the sequence of events and identifies safety deficiencies. When safety deficiencies are suspected or confirmed, the TSB advises the appropriate authority without waiting until publication of the final report.
- Report phase: a confidential draft report is approved by the Board and sent to persons and corporations who are directly concerned by the report. They then have the opportunity to dispute or correct information they believe to be incorrect. The Board considers all representations before approving the final report, which is subsequently released to the public.
For more information, see our Investigation process page.
The TSB is an independent agency that investigates air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation occurrences. Its sole aim is the advancement of transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.