Gouvernement du Québec, Service Aérien Gouvernemental

Canadair CL-415

A CL-415 water bomber, using the callsign QUE243, with two flight crew members on board, was conducting a visual flight rules (VFR) wildfire suppression mission from and to La Grande Rivière Airport, Quebec (CYGL). Upon arriving at the lake used for water scooping, QUE243 and another CL-415 (QUE245) each completed two reconnaissance circuits to check for obstacles. Finding none, both aircraft commenced scooping operations. During the eighth water scoop, just as the aircraft was about to leave the water, it struck a submerged rock. After becoming airborne, the crew noticed that the water tanks were draining, but observed no other abnormalities. Once the tanks had emptied, the crew flew two additional circuits over the lake and identified a rock that was very difficult to see because sunlight reflecting on the water gave it a reddish appearance, causing the rock to blend into the surroundings. QUE243 returned to CYGL without declaring an emergency. The aircraft was to be ferried to Québec City Airport (CYQB) under a flight permit for repairs.