Overview
- A Hughes 500 helicopter conducting forestry work went down in Loughborough Inlet at about 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday, killing two of the three people on board and leaving one survivor.
- West Coast Helicopters and partner CFMG identified the deceased as pilot Riley Browne and crew member Bobby Nowak and issued public condolences to families and the local community.
- The Transportation Safety Board of Canada confirmed it is responding and has scheduled on-site investigators to document wreckage, interview witnesses and gather data before any cause is released.
- Rescue and recovery were complicated by the remote coastal location north of the Discovery Islands, which local leaders say has shut down some community activities while residents grieve.
- Helicopters like the Hughes 500 are regularly used to support forestry work in coastal B.C., a practice that exposes crews to challenging terrain and weather and will be a focus of the safety review.