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Sûreté du Québec officers responded to reports of a helicopter in distress around 2:30 p.m. on Saturday and found the aircraft had come down in a corn field near Rang des Écossais off Highway 10 in Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, roughly 55 kilometres southeast of Montreal. The helicopter was on fire when first responders arrived and all four occupants were declared dead at the scene, a provincial police spokesperson told CBC News and The Globe and Mail. Firefighters brought the blaze under control within an hour while the force’s major crimes unit took charge of the initial inquiry.
Preliminary details gathered by Sûreté du Québec indicate the privately owned helicopter encountered difficulties almost immediately after departing from a nearby site and crashed not far from its point of departure. Police have yet to confirm the exact takeoff location, the aircraft’s destination or ownership beyond its private status, according to statements provided to CTV News. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada dispatched a team of investigators to the site as the probe into circumstances surrounding the crash continues.
One victim has been identified as pilot Suzanne Jutras, a 50-year-old commercial helicopter operator with more than 500 hours of flight experience who began offering scenic tours in 2020, La Presse and TVA Nouvelles reported citing local sources and her online profiles. Jutras regularly provided helicopter rides at regional events including the Les Félixeries festival near Drummondville, where organizers described her as their preferred pilot for the past three years. The identities of the three passengers have not been released as authorities work to notify next of kin, Sûreté du Québec officials stated.
Festival organizers expressed condolences in a social media post after learning of Jutras’s death, writing that they learned with great sadness of the passing of their favorite pilot of the past three years and extending sincere sympathies to her spouse, family, friends and all who knew her through her passion. Federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon noted on X that he was aware of the unfortunate crash and that his thoughts were with everyone touched by the tragedy, according to reports from multiple Canadian outlets. The remarks came as emergency services completed their work at the rural site.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada recorded 35 helicopter accidents within the 204 total air transportation accidents reported across Canada in 2025, a TSB statistical summary released in July 2026 showed. Those 2025 accidents formed part of 22 fatal air occurrences that resulted in 33 deaths overall, according to the board’s figures which also placed helicopter incidents at 17 per cent of the air transportation total for the year. Early 2026 data from the board indicate continued reporting of rotary-wing accidents though full-year comparisons remain pending.
Investigators from both the Sûreté du Québec and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada will examine the wreckage, maintenance records, pilot history and any witness accounts to establish factors that contributed to the crash, police statements indicated. No further details on the aircraft type or potential mechanical issues have been released at this stage of the inquiry. The event marks a significant loss of life in Canadian civilian helicopter operations this year.
