The wreckage of a plane which crashed off the south end of Qualicum Beach Airport in July 2022. (Parksville Fire Department)

By Alex Rawnsley

engine issues

Investigation wraps into cause of serious plane crash near Qualicum Beach Airport

Feb 16, 2023 | 12:27 PM

QUALICUM BEACH — Intermittent issues with the engine and the icing of a key part were deemed potential factors in a plane crash last July.

Experienced pilot Akhilesh Shere was the lone person aboard a single-engine Cessna 172 travelling from Victoria when it experienced engine issues and ultimately crashed near the south end of Qualicum Beach Airport on July 24, 2022. Shere was seriously injured in the incident.

An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) identified minor engine and operational faults which it said could have been a contributing factor.

Shere made the flight from Victoria to Qualicum Beach around 7 p.m. and flew between 2,300 and 2,500 feet above ground level up Island.

Investigators determined, through collecting evidence and speaking with Shere, the engined sputtered at points including near Qualicum, going from 2,300 rpm to 1,200 then back.

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Several witnesses to the incident also noted hearing a sputtering plane flying overhead prior to the crash.

Shere attempted an emergency landing on runway 11 at Qualicum Beach Airport around 7:38 p.m., but only briefly made contact with the runway before being forced to go around.

He wasn’t able to make a second attempt, as seconds later the aircraft began a rapid descent in a steep right turn and crashed angled down in a row of trees on the edge of a farmer’s field.

Emergency crews from the surrounding area responded to Shere, who was taken to hospital, and secure the scene which saw fuel leaking from the plane’s right wing.

A map of the crash location relative to Qualicum Beach Airport, with annotations from the TSB. (submitted image)

The TSB’s investigation of the wreckage found a well-maintained plane which investigators deemed “unremarkable” as far as determining a cause of the fault.

Its annual inspection had been done just 8.3 operational hours before the crash, although the plane’s log did note a report from another pilot of a rough running engine roughly 53 operational hours prior.

Engineers were unable to replicate the fault and returned it to service.

A majority of damage to the plane was on the nose, the nature of which the TSB noted was “consistent with the engine producing low power or not operating on impact.”

Two engine anomalies were noted, including an oil sump containing “significant” magnetic metal particles and the engine firing occasionally below 1,800 rpm.

The report said neither fault “would have significantly degraded engine operation.”

Investigators did however note the engine’s carburetor heat was not switched on at all during the flight, leaving the part susceptible to icing.

“Based on the weather conditions recorded closest to the time of the occurrence at [Qualicum Beach Airport], carburetor icing was charted as moderate icing during cruise power and serious icing during descent power.”

TSB investigators said they were unable to determine “if carburetor icing was a factor in this occurrence, [however] pilots are reminded that carburetor icing can occur even in warm temperatures.”

Weather at the time was approximately 23 degrees Celsius with light winds and relatively clear skies.

Shere was an experienced and well-practiced pilot at the time of the incident, having completed his commercial license certification a few months prior.

Identified by friends as Akhilesh Shere, was the pilot of a plane which crashed near Qualicum Beach Airport on July 24, 2022. (submitted photo)

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