The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has released a report into the cause of a crash landing on Highway 97 near Osoyoos in the summer of 2015, that left a 46-year-old pilot seriously burnt.
The TSB found that the engine of the Beechcraft A36 Bonanza lost power just minutes after the plane took off from Oliver Municipal Airport en route to Boundary Bay Airport, on July 7, 2015.
After trying unsuccessfully to restart the engine, the power loss forced the pilot to land the plane.
During the forced landing, the aircraft hit a semi truck with its wing and while coming to a stop near the side of the highway, the plane was already on fire before it hit a power pole.
The TSB report said “the aircraft was engulfed by fire only seconds after impact.”
The pilot was alone in the aircraft at the time and escaped the burning plane but not before he suffered serious burns.
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The TSB believes the reason the engine lost power was because it wasn’t getting the fuel it needed due to vapour lock.
Read More: Pilot in critical condition after single engine plane crashes outside Osoyoos
“Vapour lock occurs when fuel, normally in liquid form, changes to vapour while still in the fuel delivery system,” explained the TSB in a media release.
The TSB said the pilot had similar problems with the plane in the past “but was able on those occasions to successfully regain normal power and engine operation. Those previous successes in regaining full engine power may have delayed the pilot’s selection of a forced landing area.”
Not able to make it to an airport the pilot decided to bring the plane down on Highway 97.
The driver of the semi truck that was hit by the plane was not injured.
Watch Below: Global News spoke with friends of pilot Todd Lewenden in July 2015 in the aftermath of his crash landing near Highway 97.
– with files from Yuliya Talmazan
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