Victims of Quebec helicopter crash remembered as TSB launches probe

As an investigation of the helicopter that crashed in Quebec’s Montérégie region gets underway, the victims are being remembered as a “wonderful” pilot, a son with much more to accomplish, a mother who was a “pillar” in the family, and a husband described as the best dad in the world.

A spokesperson for the Surete du Quebec said Saturday the incident occurred just after 2:30 p.m. on Saturday when the helicopter crashed into a field in the municipality of  Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, southeast of Montreal. Four people were declared dead at the scene.

Police said the chopper caught fire but it’s unclear if the fire began in the air or as the result of the crash.

Judy Frost, a friend of pilot Suzanne Jutras, said she’s devastated.

“I’m up in Ontario with my family right now. We were just coming home from the restaurant and I just gasped, I’m still in disbelief,” she told Global News in an interview Sunday. “I can’t believe that this has happened, and the fear that must have been going through her mind as the realization of what was happening.”

Story continues below advertisement

Frost said she had been on a helicopter with Jutras as pilot almost a week prior to the incident.

When they spoke a week ago, Frost said Jutras was really excited as she was close to obtaining her 500 hours as a pilot.

According to the College of Professional Pilots of Canada, many entry-level roles in commercial aviation prefer 500 to 1,000 hours of flight time, beyond the typical 200 to 250 hours a flight school graduate sees.

Having flown with her three times, twice last year and once in 2026, Frost said she could’ve spent hours with Jutras in the air.

“A wonderful, wonderful lady, very professional, loved flying,” Frost said. “She’s very professional up in the air, but also very fun to be up in the air with. She would point out different things that we were seeing, but always maintained her pre-set circuit.”

The other three victims were part of the same family, on board for part of a birthday celebration of a mother.

Story continues below advertisement

Oceane Perreault, in a post on Facebook, wrote about losing her husband Gabriel Jasmin, her mother Chantal Raymond and her brother Loucas Perreault.

Get breaking National news

Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.

In French, Oceane said it was a ride that was supposed to mark Chantal’s birthday that ended in tragedy.

She said her husband, Gabriel, leaves her with the “most beautiful gift,” their daughter and called him the “best dad in the world.” She called her mother her “pillar,” and her brother Loucas her “other half.”

Energie 106.1, a Bell Media radio station, confirmed on Sunday that Jasmin was an employee and expressed its sincere condolences.

Martin Perreault, Chantal’s husband, expressed his own grief in a separate post in French.

He said the pair had built a life, family and many memories together and that a huge part of his life went with her. He called Loucas his son and pride, saying there were still so many things for him to accomplish.

Martin went on to remember his son-in-law, Gabriel, saying he had taken a “big place” in the family and had a zest for life and ability to make everyone laugh.

• 

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada confirmed Saturday it was deploying a team to investigate the site of the crash.

Story continues below advertisement

“Something must have gone really wrong,” said Andre Turenne, an air safety consultant and former member of the TSB.

Turenne told Global News on Sunday that while the helicopter does not have a black box like a plane, it may have an electronic package with details on the engine, rate of descent and other information. But he said he’s concerned the helicopter caught fire, which would make it difficult to determine the state of that package.

It may still be possible to get that information, but in addition to the status of the electronic package, investigators will need to gather other information from the ground.

“It is possible, but it requires very, very hard work,” he noted. “It’s very, very detail-oriented for the examination of the debris. So every piece of debris, part of metal or whatever, is important.”

In some cases, Turenne said it could take up to a year or even year-and-a-half.

“You have to go piece by piece and element after element,” he said.

The TSB said in a statement it will gather information and assess the occurrence.