Recent modifications by the pilot and registered owner without inspections may have compromised its flight safety, the safety agency says
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A fatal crash at Lillooet Airport involving an amateur-built aircraft last fall was caused by a recurring problem with fuel pressure, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has concluded.
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On the afternoon of Sept. 24, 2025, a privately licensed pilot lifted off from the municipal aerodrome in Lillooet, bound for Chilliwack, in a Bushmaster Super 22 built in 1988. It was carrying only the pilot, his hunting equipment and venison from a hunting trip a few days earlier.
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The fuel pressure and engine rpm dropped momentarily while still on the runway but recovered, and the pilot lifted off and climbed to about 105 metres. When the fuel pressure again started to drop, the engine lost power.
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The pilot turned back toward the runway as the Bushmaster continued to lose height and the pressure kept dropping. When the plane was about 11 metres off the ground, it struck trees, then crashed to the ground about 200 metres from the end of the runway. The plane was destroyed and the pilot was killed on impact.
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The pilot was experienced with about 565 total hours of flight time and about 30 hours in the Bushmaster, which he bought in 2024.
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The TSB said that because it was an amateur build, the Bushmaster had a flight permit with no expiry date and was not subject to inspections as part of its certification.
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“The pilot maintained and modified the aircraft himself,” said the TSB in its report released on Tuesday. He updated the plane, purchased as a float plane, with a new propeller, electronic fuel injection and ignition systems, an autopilot system and a Garmin flight display, among other modifications.
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While major modifications to amateur planes must be done in accordance with approved procedures, the plane was not “type-certified” and was therefore exempt from having to report equipment changes to Transport Canada. However, modifications that affect the “structural integrity, geometry, performance … and maximum permissible takeoff mass” are supposed to be checked by an inspector.
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“Some of the modifications made to the (Bushmaster) after the flight permit was issued likely affected the aircraft’s performance, power plant operation, and flight characteristics,” the TSB said. “There was no record of these modifications being inspected by a Transport Canada representative or reported to the (transportation) minister before flight.”
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After modifications were done in June 2025, “the aircraft began experiencing significant momentary drops in fuel pressure during operation. These issues continued through early September 2025.”
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The primary electric fuel pump repeatedly lost pressure and required the backup pump to kick in. These defects were never recorded in the journey log.
