Andrew Bates
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Telegraph-Journal
Police say the sole occupant of a helicopter reported missing Saturday was pronounced dead after the craft was found wrecked in the Sussex area.
Vincent van Zutphen, 60, was identified online as the pilot of a helicopter that officials said left the Fredericton International Airport at 3 p.m. Saturday and never arrived at its destination in Sussex. After a search, the aircraft’s wreckage was located and the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene, according to RCMP Cpl. Hans Ouellette.
Ouellette told Brunswick News that the RCMP responded to a rescue call Saturday evening from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax, a collaboration between the Canadian Forces and the Coast Guard, regarding a missing helicopter.
A commercially registered Robinson R-44 helicopter took off with one occupant at 3 p.m. Saturday from Fredericton International Airport headed for the Sussex Airport, a privately owned aerodrome in Wards Creek, south of Sussex, according to Hugo Fontaine, spokesperson for the federal Transportation Safety Board.
“The helicopter never arrived at destination, so a search was started,” Fontaine wrote by email. “The wreckage was later discovered west-northwest of Sussex Airport.”
JRCC Halifax spokesperson Maj. Trevor Ackland told Brunswick News that the centre received a call about an overdue helicopter at 6:10 p.m.
Two search and rescue helicopters from 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron at CFB Greenwood, a CH-149 Cormorant and a CC-295 Kingfisher, were dispatched, and conducted a search along with RCMP officers, local firefighters, ambulance services and Civil Air Search and Rescue Association members, Ackland said.
“The local fire department personnel, in coordination with the CH-149 Cormorant, located an incident site and positively identified the missing helicopter,” Ackland wrote in an email.
Ackland wrote that search and rescue technicians were lowered to the scene to provide assistance, but found the pilot with no vital signs. The RCMP were notified and secured the scene, Ackland said.
Police attended the area of the helicopter’s last signal and joined search efforts involving other partner agencies, according to Ouellette. The aircraft’s main cabin was located at around 2:30 a.m. Sunday, he said.
“The sole occupant, the pilot, was pronounced deceased at the scene,” Ouellette wrote by email. “Our thoughts are with the pilot’s family and loved ones during this very difficult time.”
Ouellette said “no criminality is suspected” at this stage, and the investigation has been handed off to the TSB.
Fontaine said two investigators with the Transportation Safety Board arrived Sunday to “to collect information and assess the occurrence,” and confirmed Monday that they are still working in the field.
He said the flight was a “visual flight rules” trip. That’s defined as “visual meteorological conditions” or “nice and clear weather” according to an ATP Flight School article, compared to “instrument flight rules,” which is more challenging and reserved for overcast or cloudy weather.
He said that the helicopter was operated by Veezee Aviation Inc., which is based in Mabou, N.S., according to the Nova Scotia corporate registry, and was registered in November with Vincent van Zutphen as the sole director.
According to the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register, the company is associated with a Robinson helicopter that was registered in the company’s name Dec. 12. Van Zutphen’s Facebook page, which describes him as 60 years old and residing in Judique, N.S., includes photos of the helicopter and posts about getting his student pilot permit in January.
In a Facebook post Sunday, a group called the Nova Scotia Off Road Riders Association wrote that they were “deeply saddened to share the sudden and tragic passing” of van Zutphen following an incident while flying a helicopter.
Van Zutphen is the president of Zutphen Construction, a family-owned company in Mabou, N.S., on Cape Breton Island. The off-road group’s past president Josh Kelly was informed by van Zutphen’s brother Leonard van Zutphen, according to a post.
The Facebook post described van Zutphen as the owner of the group’s Craigmore Ride Park, but also “a valued supporter of the riding community and a friend to many within NSORRA.”
“This loss is felt deeply across our community,” the post reads. “Our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with the Van Zutphen family and all those affected by this tragedy.”
A Facebook account for Leonard van Zutphen posted to a Belleisle Valley group Sunday evening, thanking “everyone who helped find my brother Vincent last night.”
“The effort of so many professionals and volunteers are very much appreciated by our family back in Cape Breton,” van Zutphen said, saying they were “very special loving people.”
