Transport Canada following up with owner of helicopter recorded flying low in east Ottawa

Transport Canada says there will be a follow-up with the owner of a helicopter that was recorded flying low in Ottawa’s east end earlier this week.

A post on Reddit showed a video of a black helicopter appearing to fly under power lines on a rural road. The poster said it happened on Wall Road between Tenth Line and Trim on Sunday afternoon.

In a statement to CTV News on Monday, Transport Canada said the incident had not yet been formally reported to them, but added they would be speaking to the owner of the aircraft.

“There will be a follow-up with the owner of that aircraft,” a spokesperson said.

“The department encourages anyone who witnesses unsafe or illegal flying activity should contact Transport Canada. The report should contain as much information as possible (i.e. clear photos or videos, date, time, drone type, other identifying marks),” Transport Canada said, linking to their incident reporting page.

The original poster, who asked not to be identified by his real name, said he submitted a report to Transport Canada on Tuesday. 

“My wife and I were very surprised at seeing it flying so low. So we continued along the road to get a closer look,” he said of the incident in a Reddit chat. “That’s when we found the aircraft had landed in the middle of the road. We got within 100 feet or so and actually had to completely stop and wait a minute or so for them to depart. When they finally did, we were shocked to see them fly underneath the power lines, just to land again on an adjacent access road.”

He said he also submitted a report to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). The TSB said it was aware of the incident but confirmed it was not investigating, saying it was a regulatory matter that would be better handled by Transport Canada.

Transport Canada did not confirm who owned the aircraft. Posts by other Reddit users showed a helicopter owned by a numbered Quebec company, based in Montreal, had flown in the area where the video was recorded. 

Helicopter pilots are subject to Canadian Aviation regulations that include a minimum altitude of 1,000 feet above a built-up area and a minimum distance of 500 feet from any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

“Transport Canada reviews all complaints and reports of possible violations involving a helicopter or aircraft to determine if an investigation is warranted and whether an offense has occurred under the Regulations,” the federal agency said.