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MONTREAL — The Transportation Safety Board says there was a faulty repair job on the flight controls of a small seaplane a few months before it crashed into the Richelieu River last year.
On May 2, a float-equipped De Havilland DHC-2 Mk. I (Beaver) aircraft took off from the St-Mathias aerodrome, on the Richelieu River, for a local flight with two people on board.
The TSB says during takeoff, the pilot lost control and the right wing struck the water, detaching from the aircraft, which then overturned underwater in St-Basile-le-Grand, east of Montreal.
The pilot was found dead in the aircraft after it was returned to shore but the passenger managed to free himself and escape through a window.
The TSB found that during maintenance carried out in February 2025, a repair was done to the control column, but a chain linking the control was not reinstalled correctly.
The maintenance company has since added an additional independent check when work is done on the flight controls and the TSB says it’s important pilots carry out a thorough pre-flight check whenever maintenance work is done on an aircraft.
The board also says wearing a personal flotation device on any seaplane is imperative, since there is limited time to react should a plane suddenly overturn.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 13, 2026.
The Canadian Press
