The emergency locator transmission on the helicopter flown by a prominent Quebec businessman who went missing along with his son was turned off, according to a report released by the Transportation Safety Board on Friday.
Stephane Roy, the president of produce company Savoura, and his 14-year-old son Justin went missing while returning from a fishing trip in the Upper Laurentians on July 10. The two were in a helicopter piloted by the elder Roy. Volunteers, police and the Canadian Armed Forces scoured the area for weeks and the bodies of the two were found on July 25 when the Surete du Quebec located on aircraft on the ground in the Lac Valtrie area.
According to the TSB report no emergency locator transmitter signal was received after the helicopter went down. Analysis of the wreckage found that the transmitter’s switch was turned to the off position.
The TSB said they will analyze the transmitter to determine if it would have functioned properly if it was turned on. A GPS unit and two cell phones found at the scene will also be analyzed.
The report also said that the helicopter’s main and tail rotors did not show the “characteristic signs of an impact at full speed.”
