News spread through Western Canada’s aerial application industry last week following the death of a spray plane pilot in western Manitoba.
David Michael Sidoryk, a 40-year-old Virden man, died after the plane he was flying crashed into a field. The accident happened June 22 shortly after takeoff from a small airstrip near Virden.
“Anytime anything like this happens it impacts everyone,” said Jill Lane of the Canadian Aerial Applicators Association, describing the close-knit nature of her industry.
“We have so very few fatalities, it really does hit hard.”
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CP Rail employees saw the crash and rushed to Sidoryk’s aid. The mechanic and part-time spray plane pilot was pronounced dead at Virden’s hospital.
Transportation Safety Board officials visited the scene last week, searching for clues about the cause of the crash. There was no confirmation of the cause as of late last week, said Peter Hildebrand, the safety board’s acting regional manager.
There were no signs the plane struck wires following takeoff, Hildebrand said. The plane’s flight controls, engine and body were being examined for clues.
Hildebrand oversees a region extending from Saskatchewan to northwestern Ontario. The last time someone was killed in that region while flying a spray plane was in 1995. The accident happened at Graysville, Man., while a pilot was on a practice flight using water.
“It’s not every year that we have a fatal accident in the Manitoba-Saskatchewan area,” Hildebrand said. “There are quite a few more accidents than there are fatal accidents.”
During the past 10 years there have been an average of seven spray plane accidents per year where substantial damage was reported.
Hildebrand noted several measures have been taken to improve pilot safety during the past decade. More planes used for crop spraying are designed specifically for that purpose. The design often includes a reinforced structure around the cockpit and greater flight stability. An increasing number of pilots are using helmets, Hildebrand said. Cockpits now come equipped with a harness that secures pilots into seats better than seat-belts in cars or trucks.
Pilots now are required to keep flight records of how many hours they work. Canadian air regulations also spell out standards that must be followed for plane maintenance, said Lane.
Despite the popular perception that spray plane pilots are young barn stormers that like to tempt fate, Lane said the opposite is true.
“We’ve spent the last 10 years since I’ve been here trying to stomp that image out.”
