Firm suspended after truck carrying helicopter strikes B.C. overpass sign

BC Highway Patrol were called to investigate after a truck carrying a shrink-wrapped helicopter fuselage reportedly struck an overpass in Burnaby on Monday, Jan. 15, 2023. (Credit: Curtis Kreklau)BC Highway Patrol were called to investigate after a truck carrying a shrink-wrapped helicopter fuselage reportedly struck an overpass in Burnaby on Monday, Jan. 15, 2023. (Credit: Curtis Kreklau)
BC Highway Patrol were called to investigate after a truck carrying a shrink-wrapped helicopter fuselage reportedly struck an overpass in Burnaby on Monday, Jan. 15, 2023. (Credit: Curtis Kreklau)BC Highway Patrol were called to investigate after a truck carrying a shrink-wrapped helicopter fuselage reportedly struck an overpass in Burnaby on Monday, Jan. 15, 2023. (Credit: Curtis Kreklau)

B.C.’s transportation ministry has suspended another company over overpass offences, and a shrink-wrapped helicopter body is to blame.

A semi-truck carrying the fuselage was travelling eastbound along Highway 1 through Burnaby on Monday afternoon (Jan. 15) when it struck a sign hanging from the Gilmore overpass. The transportation ministry says the driver had obtained an oversized permit, but that the height of the helicopter exceeded it.

The overpass is not visibly damaged and the sign only sustained minor damage, according to the ministry, but it has decided to suspend the Abbotsford-based carrier, International Machine Transport Inc., while an investigation is completed.

The transportation company operates throughout North America, but only their 20-vehicle fleet in B.C. will be impacted. Black Press Media has reached out to them for comment.

The incident is the third to be investigated by B.C.’s transportation ministry this year, according to its online overpass crash report data.

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