Quebec helicopter crash victims remembered as TSB launches investigation – Montreal

As the investigation into the helicopter that crashed in the Montérégie region of Quebec is ongoing, the victims are being remembered as “extraordinary” pilots, a son who had a lot to achieve, a mother who was a “pillar” in the family, and a husband described as the best father in the world.

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

Police said the helicopter caught fire but it was not clear whether the fire started in the air or was the result of an accident.

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

“I’m in Ontario with my family right now. We just got home from the restaurant and I gasped, I still can’t believe it,” he told Global News in an interview Sunday. “I couldn’t believe this had happened, and the fear that must have crossed his mind as the realization of what was happening.”

Frost said he was in the helicopter with Jutras as pilot almost a week before the incident.

When they spoke a week ago, Frost said Jutras was excited because he was close to getting his 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 200 to 250 hours typically seen by flight school graduates.

Having flown with him three times, twice last year and once in 2026, Frost said he could spend hours with Jutras in the air.

“A wonderful, wonderful woman, very professional, loves to fly,” Frost said. “He was very professional in the air, but also very fun to be with in the air. He would show us different things that we saw, but always maintained a predetermined circuit.”

Three other victims were part of the same family, on the ship to celebrate a mother’s birthday.

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

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

She said her husband, Gabriel, left her with “the most beautiful gift,” their daughter and called him “the best father in the world.” He calls his mother his “pillar,” and his brother Loucas calls her his “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 sadness in a separate post in French.

He said the couple had built a life, a family and many memories together and a large part of his life was lost with him. He called Loucas his son and his pride, saying he still had a lot to accomplish.

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

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

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

Turenne told Global News on Sunday that although the helicopter does not have a black box like a plane, it may have an electronics package with details about the engine, descent speed and other information. But he said he was concerned the helicopter caught fire, making it difficult to determine the condition of the package.

This information can still be obtained, but apart from the status of the electronic package, investigators need to collect other information from the field.

“It’s possible, but it requires a lot of hard work,” he said. “It’s very, very detail-oriented in debris inspection. So every piece of debris, metal part or whatever, is important.”

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

“You have to do it piece by piece, element by element,” he said.

TSB said in a statement that it would gather information and assess the incident.

—with files from Rebecca Lau and Dan Spector of Global News

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.