CF-18 crash linked to night vision disorientation

An initial report into an investigation of a CF-18 crash near Cold Lake, Alta., last November suggests the pilot's lack of experience with night vision goggles was a contributing factor.

The investigator's report released this week is an initial accident summary from the flight investigator and not the final report into the Nov. 18, 2010, pilot ejection and crash.

The pilot, Capt. Darren Blakie, ejected safely and was taken back to Cold Lake within a couple of hours of the crash.

The investigation so far has found the pilot wasn't experienced in night flying and hadn't flown using night vision goggles for more than seven months. He was on a night vision goggle training mission when he ejected and the plane crashed.

The recorded flight data and pilot testimony show the CF-18 Hornet was working normally, but the pilot became disoriented when the plane's landing light reflected on falling snow.

"As a result of the visual inputs, the pilot perceived that he had entered a steep descent," the report says.

He tried to correct for the perceived descent, but the light washed out his view of the instrumentation, the report says.

"Still feeling that he was in a dive and thinking he was rapidly approaching the ground below, but unable to confirm his attitude using outside references or his [display], the pilot decided to eject."

The investigation now turns to the pilot's disorientation, organizational pressures and training practices. The air force has already restricted night vision goggle training to pilots with more experience.

A preliminary review of operator practices has also found that CF-18 aircraft at the time of the crash were routinely operating with the use of night vision goggles in inclement weather and at an unlit airfield, which wasn't authorized.

The report is dated Feb. 7, 2011, but was posted to the air force's website Thursday.