Prince George, B.C. – Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board hope a change in the weather will allow them access to the site of a helicopter crash, east of Canmore, Alberta last Friday morning.

The pilot, 28-year-old Matthew Goodine of Prince George, and four passengers were aboard the Kananaskis Heli Tours helicopter when it crashed in rugged terrain on a remote slope on Grotto Mountain. Goodine was severely injured and succumbed to those injuries while waiting to be airlifted to hospital in Calgary. Heavy snow and strong winds prevented rescuers from Kananaskis from reaching the crash site for several hours, although Canmore Mounties have been told that the snow didn’t start falling until 15 minutes after the chopper went down. The passengers, two couples from Britain, were rescued by emergency services personnel who rappelled from a helicopter and placed the survivors in slings. All four tourists were treated at hospitals in Canmore and Calgary and released.

The inclement weather over the weekend prevented TSB officials from reaching the area to begin their investigation into the cause of the crash.