Pilot lands helicopter in lake after it loses power while fighting northwestern Ontario wildfire

Sarah Law · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 18, 2025 3:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours ago

One of the helicopters utilized successful the province's wildfire warring efforts mislaid powerfulness this week implicit a water successful northwestern Ontario, forcing the aviator to usage different mode to onshore it safely successful shallow water.

The aviator was uninjured and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is gathering much information.

The incidental occurred soon earlier 6 p.m. CT connected Monday, a TSB spokesperson told CBC News successful an email connected Wednesday. 

"A Guardian Helicopters Inc. Bell 205A-1 chopper was conducting aerial firefighting activities adjacent Sandy Lake, Ont. Shortly aft scooping a load of h2o from a lake, the motor stopped producing power," Chris Krepski said Wednesday.

The pilot, who was the lone 1 successful the chopper, released "the h2o load and conducted an autorotation landing successful a shallow portion of the lake."

Autorotation is simply a manoeuvre that pilots usage to onshore a chopper aft it loses power. It involves using the upward airflow done the rotor blades to glide the chopper to safety. 

Ontario 'thankful the aviator is safe'

Wildfire warring efforts person been underway successful antithetic parts of Canada, successful 1 of the country's worst wildfire seasons. 

Canadian Armed Forces unit were called to Sandy Lake First Nation — a distant Oji-Cree community about 600 kilometres northwest of Thunder Bay — connected June 8 to assistance successful the evacuation of implicit 2,000 radical owed to the region's largest wildfire, Red Lake 12.

Red Lake 12, which was discovered May 28 and remains not nether control, spans much than 177,000 hectares. It besides prompted the evacuation of much than 800 radical from Deer Lake First Nation, and a fig of radical from Keewaywin and North Spirit Lake.

Krepski said that successful the lawsuit of the Monday chopper incident, an exigency locator transmitter was activated erstwhile it started going down and different chopper successful the country responded to the site.

The TSB was rapidly notified and is collecting information, but isn't presently deploying immoderate investigators arsenic the incidental is being assessed, helium said.

A spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources said it's alert of what happened and is "thankful the aviator is safe."

Alexandra Weber, a ministry spokesperson, said its aviation and information experts "will afloat co-operate" with Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board.

The province's latest wildfire update, connected Tuesday night, said Red Lake 12 had not moved immoderate person to Sandy Lake First Nation oregon Deer Lake First Nation, "owing to the firefighting enactment that has been performed connected those sections of perimeter."

"Heavy helicopters with buckets and h2o bombers person been utilized successful caller days to assistance trim occurrence intensity," Ontario Forest Fires said. "Firefighting crews, supported by bucketing helicopters, are making advancement successful consolidating hose lines and maintaining protective sprinkler systems connected buildings and infrastructure successful Deer Lake, Sandy Lake and Keewaywin."

The wildfire hazard varies crossed the region. While rainfall has lowered the risks successful the Thunder Bay and Fort Frances sectors, arsenic good arsenic the confederate fractional of Nipigon, the acold northbound is seeing mean to precocious hazards.