CANADIAN PILOT WHO LANDED ULTRALIGHT PLANE ON B.C. HIGHWAY WAS TOLD OF NEED FOR ENGINE REPAIRS WEEKS PRIOR TO THE CRASH

APRIL 23, 2015

A pilot who was forced to land on a busy B.C. highway during rush hour had been warned that there were mechanical issues with his plane in the weeks before the crash.

Paul Deane-Freeman, 49, was flying his ultralight aircraft over White Rock, B.C. on Wednesday evening when he was forced to make the crash landing.

During the flight practicing water landings and takeoffs, his plane lost engine power while at a height of 365 metres (1,200 feet).

 “It seized up. That was it,” he told CTV Vancouver on Thursday.

According to an aviation company where the plane was stored, Deane-Freeman had been informed that the plane had engine problems on April 11.

In a letter obtained by CTV Vancouver and addressed to the pilot, the King George Aviation owners had warned Deane-Freeman not to fly the plane until it had been inspected.

“The flying skills that you have demonstrated to date are exceptional however your inability to understand our point of view when it comes to safety really concerns us,” the letter reads.

The letter says he was made aware of mechanical problems with the plane when he purchased it, and was told that certain repairs were needed before it was safe to fly.

“During the past two weeks you have taken your aircraft onto the water on numerous occasions despite our request for you to complete the above mentioned repairs and instructions.”

The letter says the company had arranged for an expert to meet with him to help with his water landings, but they chose to cancel the visit when they realized the plane had not been repaired.

“We wish to formally express our disappointment and highlight once more the extremely high risk of having a serious accident.”

Deane-Freeman told CTV News Channel later on Thursday that he had never received the letter, and was not aware of any mechanical problems with the plane.

"It was running good, otherwise I wouldn't have taken off," Deane-Freeman said.

He said the plane’s engine stopped while he flew over a group of trees, shortly before 6:30 p.m. He made a mayday call, then was forced to make a split-second decision: to land on Highway 91 that was filled with rush-hour traffic.

Deane-Freeman managed to bring his small plane down over the southbound lanes of Highway 91, between 72nd and 64th Avenues.

“I thought, ‘Oh no, not here. This is the worst place for this to happen,’” he said.

“I was thinking about the cars. I didn’t want to get run over by a semi-truck or get into a head-on collision.”

The plane barely cleared the treetops and clipped a speed-limit sign with its wing before coming to a rest against the concrete median. The entire ordeal took less than two minutes, and he managed to land the plane without hitting any cars.

Deane-Freeman was transported to hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, and was released Thursday morning. He told CTV News Channel later on Thursday that he fractured his C12 vertebrae.

“It was extremely painful,” Deane-Freeman said, but added that he knew the crash could have been much worse.

“I feel pretty lucky, considering that I got the plane as far as I did, and forced it over the treetops,” he said.

“It was pretty amazing.”

No one on the ground was injured in the crash landing.

Deane-Freeman said became a pilot in 2001, but took a break from flying for several years. He got his current license a year ago, and had been flying the plane he was in on Wednesday for the last four months.

Deane-Freeman said he made the mistake of purchasing the aircraft without knowing its history.  That is a very big mistake, bud.

"I had no documentation … the journey log wasn't filled out at all," Deane-Freeman.

Despite the crash, he said he plans to fly again as soon as he’s repaired the small plane

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca

Date:	22-APR-2015
Time:	18:15
Type:	Buccaneer II
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	C-IJFV
C/n / msn:	001
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Minor
Location:	NE of Delta, southeast Surrey, BC -   Canada
Phase:	Landing
Nature:	Unknown
Departure airport:	Surrey/King George Airpark (CSK8)
Destination airport:

Narrative:
The aircraft force landed to a major roadway in southwest Surrey, British Columbia. The amphibious seaplane sustained minor damage and the sole pilot onboard received minor injuries..

Sources:

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=175615
http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/canada/britishcolumbia/story/1.3045037
http://www.leaderpost.com/news/metro/Small+plane+crash+lands+Delta+highway/10995703/story.html
http://ckom.com/content/plane-crash-closes-two-lanes-bc-highway
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/small-plane-makes-hard-landing-on-highway-91-in-delta-1.3045037
http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/CCARCS-RIACC/ADet.aspx?id=519691&rfr=RchAvc.aspx