English
Four people died on Saturday afternoon when a helicopter crashed and caught fire in a field near Sainte-Brigide-d’Iberville, a municipality southeast of Montreal in Quebec’s Montérégie region. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has deployed a team to investigate the cause of the crash. As the investigation begins, friends and family are mourning the loss of a dedicated pilot and three members of the same family.
The Crash and Initial Response
The Sûreté du Québec confirmed the helicopter went down just after 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. Emergency responders declared all four occupants dead at the scene. The aircraft caught fire, though authorities have not yet determined whether the fire started before or after impact.
Stay connected to every major update — subscribe and follow us on the PhoenixQ website and across our social media platforms.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada confirmed it sent investigators to the crash site the same day. André Turenne, an air safety consultant and former TSB member, told Global News on Sunday that something must have gone seriously wrong. He noted that unlike commercial aircraft, helicopters do not carry a black box. However, the aircraft may have had an electronic data package recording engine performance, rate of descent and other key details.
Turenne expressed concern that the fire may have damaged or destroyed that package. Even so, he said investigators could still recover useful information through careful analysis of the wreckage. “It is possible, but it requires very, very hard work,” he said. “Every piece of debris, part of metal or whatever, is important.” He added that in some cases, investigations of this kind can take up to a year or even a year and a half.
Remembering Pilot Suzanne Jutras
One of the victims was pilot Suzanne Jutras. Her friend Judy Frost described her as a wonderful and highly professional aviator. Frost told Global News she was still in disbelief after hearing the news. “I can’t believe that this has happened,” she said.
Frost said she had flown with Jutras three times — twice in the previous year and once in 2026 — and had last spoken with her about a week before the crash. At that time, Jutras was excited because she was close to reaching 500 hours of flight time. According to the College of Professional Pilots of Canada, many entry-level commercial aviation roles prefer candidates with between 500 and 1,000 hours of experience, well beyond the 200 to 250 hours a typical flight school graduate accumulates.
Frost remembered Jutras as someone who was both professional and engaging in the air. “She would point out different things that we were seeing, but always maintained her pre-set circuit,” Frost said. “A wonderful, wonderful lady — very professional, loved flying.”
A Family Outing Turns to Tragedy
The other three victims were members of the same family. They had boarded the helicopter as part of a birthday celebration for one of them. In a Facebook post written in French, Océane Perreault shared the devastating news that she had lost her husband, her mother and her brother in the crash.
Her husband, Gabriel Jasmin, her mother, Chantal Raymond, and her brother, Loucas Perreault, all died in the accident. Océane described Gabriel as the best dad in the world and said he left her with the most beautiful gift — their daughter. She called her mother Chantal her “pillar” and referred to her brother Loucas as her “other half.”
Énergie 106.1, a Bell Media radio station, confirmed on Sunday that Jasmin had been one of its employees. The station extended its sincere condolences to his family.
Meanwhile, Martin Perreault, Chantal’s husband, also shared his grief in a separate post. He wrote that the two had built a life, a family and many memories together. He said a huge part of his life had gone with her. Martin also remembered his son Loucas, saying there were still so many things for him to accomplish. He described his son-in-law Gabriel as someone who had taken a big place in the family and had a genuine zest for life and an ability to make everyone around him laugh.
The TSB said it will continue to gather information and assess the circumstances of the occurrence. No timeline for a final report has been announced.
