Four members of a Quebec family and their close friend, a veteran pilot, have been identified as the victims of a helicopter crash on Montreal’s South Shore, with relatives saying the flight had been arranged as a birthday gift.
Suzanne Jutras, 50, a pilot with more than 500 hours of experience who owned two helicopters, was flying the aircraft when it ran into trouble shortly after takeoff and crashed in a field near Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, in Quebec’s Monteregie region, according to Noovo Info and Global News. The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Saturday, roughly 45 kilometres southeast of Montreal.
The flight had been organized as a birthday outing for Chantal Raymond, Noovo Info reported. Raymond, her partner Gabriel Jasmin, and her son, Loucas Perreault, were also killed. Jasmin, who had recently been promoted to advertising producer at Sherbrooke radio station 106.1 Energie after years on air at several Bell Media stations, was remembered by his partner in a message shared online: “You left me the most beautiful gift, our daughter. A part of you that will live on through her.”
Oceane Perreault, Raymond’s daughter and Loucas’s sister, wrote that she lost “three people I love more than anything,” saying they “left far too soon, before my eyes,” according to Noovo Info.
The helicopter caught fire after the crash, and all four occupants were declared dead at the scene, Global News reported, citing the Surete du Quebec. Firefighters extinguished the blaze within about an hour.
The Surete du Quebec’s major crime unit is investigating, and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been notified, Global News said. Neither agency had released a cause for the crash as of Sunday, though Noovo Info reported the aircraft ran into difficulty soon after it left the ground.
Jutras was well known in Quebec’s air-show community and was described as a favourite pilot by organizers of the Les Felixeries festival, which paid tribute to her online, writing, “We salute you… Thank you for taking us up into the skies with your kindness.”
The Haut-Richelieu chapter of the Union des producteurs agricoles also offered condolences, saying, “Our thoughts are with you during this time of great sorrow.”
Colleagues at 106.1 Energie began sharing memories of Jasmin’s broadcasts Sunday as news of his death spread across Quebec media.
The Transportation Safety Board typically sends investigators to the scene of fatal aircraft accidents and can take months to release preliminary findings, with a full report following a more extensive review. No information on funeral arrangements for the four victims had been released as of Sunday afternoon.
