Bolt likely fell out of ultralight aircraft prior to fatal N.B. crash last summer: report

A small plane that crashed in a cornfield near Burtts Corner, N.B., is pictured.

A crucial bolt likely fell out of an ultralight aircraft before it crashed in Keswick, N.B., last summer, according to a new report.

An Earthstar Aircraft eGull basic ultralight plane crashed in a cornfield on July 19, 2024, killing the pilot and sole passenger. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada launched an investigation into the crash and released the results on Wednesday.

The report says the pilot, who was also the owner of the one-seater aircraft, obtained a recreational pilot permit in 2021. He got a glider licence in 1975 and a private pilot licence in 1990, but the report could not determine his total number of flight hours.

According to the report, the Earthstar Aircraft eGull had a maximum take-off weight of 750 pounds and its battery capacity allowed for a typical flight duration of 70 minutes.

The aircraft left the Weyman Airpark around 10:42 a.m. for a “local visual flight rules” flight on July 19. After 45 minutes of flying, it was observed circling at a height of less than 1,000 feet above the ground before nosediving into a cornfield.

Taigue McAvity, who owns the property next to the cornfield, saw the crash happen.

“I came outside and he was kind of doing, loops around,” McAvity told CTV News at the time. “He did a loop around my backyard and then kind of seemed to straighten out and fly towards the river and towards the cornfield, and then all of a sudden, just nose down straight into the ground, it was a loud crash.”

The pilot was killed and the aircraft was destroyed. There was no post-impact fire.

“The aircraft impacted terrain in a steep nose-down attitude,” the report reads. “From the leading edge of the wings forward, the aircraft was crushed. The impact was not survivable.”

The investigation learned the hardware at the attachment between the control column bell crank and the lower end of the aileron push tube assembly was missing. The bolt likely fell from the plane before the crash, which would have disconnected the push tube and made controlling the aircraft difficult.

“Basic ultralights are operated without a certificate of airworthiness, which means that the design, construction, and maintenance of the aircraft are not subject to any form of oversight by Transport Canada,” the report reads. “It is the owner’s responsibility to maintain the aircraft so that it is safe for flight.”

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