Caravan Down Vancouver Island

hanrahan · Post by **hanrahan** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 7:04 pm

I don't know what to say.

You will be missed. I wish now that we'd stayed in touch, but I am so grateful that I had a chance to have you in my life. Thanks for the laughs, the beers, and the smiles.

Cheers my friend. My thoughts and tears are for you.

marktheone · Post by **marktheone** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 9:43 pm

Hell of good guy. Not a bad bone in his body. He will be missed for a long long time.

Mark

200hr Wonder · Post by **200hr Wonder** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:23 pm

Today I have lost a friend and a college. Though I as of yet do not know the name of the pilot, I did know most people who worked for Sonic Blue. I can only say that the pilot has a legacy of five people who survived the crash. Good job in the end my friend, congratualtions on doing the best you could!

God Speed.

greenwich · Post by **greenwich** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 10:58 pm

A damn shame...again!!

Just turned-off CBC's evening news which showed numerous angles of the crash site. The 208 was almost 100% intact, and it was in a clearcut.

Given the fact that he was single-engine/IFR, in mountainous AND forrested terrain, I think he did a hell of a job! Just sad as hell that they all didn't walk away!

Another thing...

I HATE how the media 'runs' with these kind of stories. They're ripping Regency apart, and they're off on this Cessna 208 'rant':

(From CBC.com)

U.S. issued warnings about Cessna Caravan 208s

In the past week, officials from the U.S. Transportation Safety Board have issued several urgent safety recommendations warning of problems while flying the Cessna Caravan 208s in icy conditions.

According to the agency, 33 people have died in the past 15 years after Cessna 208s iced up while in the air.

Canadian officials have not issued a similar warning.

No link has been made between icing conditions and the crash on the weekend.

But officials from the Canadian Transportation Safety Board said the agency was looking into two other crashes involving Cessna Caravan 208s.

John Cottreau, a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board, said he couldn't give many details about continuing investigations.

"All I can tell you is that we are going to look at ... what is known about the Cessna 208, and that everything that we know and everything that we discover through our investigations will figure into our final report."

Airline suffered earlier tragedies

Officials also said they plan to closely examine the safety record of Sonicblue Airways, the Vancouver-based company that owns the plane.

The company grounded all flights after the crash.

It wasn't the first tragedy for Sonicblue, which used to be called Regency Express. In 2002, three people were killed on one of their planes as it tried to take off. In 1998, two of its pilots died in a Cessna Caravan 208 on Salt Spring Island.

In 2005, the company was fined for failing to properly maintain their aircraft and for letting students pilot commercial flights.

The company declined to answer any questions from CBC News on Sunday. However, a spokesperson said the airline's employees have been praying for the five passengers in hospital.

G

sky's the limit · Post by **sky's the limit** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:12 pm

G man,

I understand your frustration with the media - but "ripping Regency" needs to be done by someone - and loudly. Google their record if you wonder what i'm getting at.

Walker · Post by **Walker** » Sun Jan 22, 2006 11:40 pm

agreed.... but lets wait a few days ok man.......

Sparks · Post by **Sparks** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:09 am

Tragic news

Much of the same in this article, with a few new details. From today's Vancouver Sun:

Infant girl survives fatal plane crash near Port Alberni

BY JONATHAN FOWLIE VANCOUVER SUN

Survivors of a plane crash near Port Alberni sat quietly in pain for hours as rescuers ripped seats from the back of their small Cessna and methodically plucked each person to safety.

Passengers were trapped in the midst of bent seats and airline fuel until they were pulled out of the plane, but even then, they faced a further wait in the snow, wrapped only in makeshift comforters for warmth until they could be taken up the hill to a helicopter. Most had broken bones or severe cuts; all faced a risk of hypothermia. Around them, a growing team of rescuers worked to get everyone out of the plane and to hospital as quickly as possible.

“It’s one of the most challenging missions I’ve ever done,” said Master Cpl. Scott Elliston of 422 Squadron in Comox, one of the first two search and rescue technicians to arrive at the scene. Elliston described the rescue in detail Sunday, saying the victims had to be carried up a snowy log-strewn hill before they could be lifted into a hovering Cormorant helicopter.

Three of the eight people in the plane died in the crash, including a three-year-old boy, the pilot of the plane and one other passenger. Five others survived, including the three-year-old’s 13-month-old sister. The infant girl was airlifted to B.C. Children’s Hospital in Vancouver on Saturday night, and was listed in serious condition on Sunday.

The other four survivors also remained in hospital on Sunday. A spokeswoman for the Vancouver Island Health Authority in Victoria said two women in their 40s were in stable condition at St. Joseph’s General Hospital in Comox with fractures and broken bones. Another two women were airlifted to Victoria General Hospital for surgery on Sunday and were said to be in stable condition.

A small dog also survived the crash, and was taken to Comox aboard the rescue helicopter.

The plane was on a regularly scheduled flight from Tofino to Vancouver, and was operated by Richmond-based Sonicblue Airways. The plane left Tofino at 1:45 p.m. on Saturday in overcast weather.

The pilot of the Cessna 208 Caravan issued a mayday call on Saturday at about 2 p.m., saying he had lost engine power and needed to make an emergency landing at Port Alberni’s airport. Master Warrant Officer Andy Morris of 422 Squadron in Comox said that in that call, the pilot said if he could not make it to the airport, he would try to land on a nearby logging road.

A Buffalo aircraft from 19 Wing Comox first spotted the wreckage on a recently logged and snow-covered hillside about 11 kilometres southwest of Port Alberni. At about 3 p.m., a following Cormorant helicopter was able to land just below the scene, allowing Elliston and his partner to check for survivors. Elliston said that when he arrived, he saw the plane had crashed directly into the side of the hill.

“I didn’t see any skid marks so it looked like it basically came in and came to an abrupt stop where it impacted,” he said, adding the tail of the plane tipped up after crashing, leaving the plane tilted forward into the hillside. Elliston said the wings of the plane had broken, the nose was crumpled and the landing gear had collapsed, but the main body was relatively intact.

He said he and his partner got inside the plane through a rear door, and quickly called for help once they realized the number of survivors. After that call, three other search and rescue technicians dropped supplies from the airborne Buffalo, and then parachuted into the scene.

Members of the Port Alberni search and rescue team, along with a search and rescue team from a second Cormorant helicopter, came later in the afternoon to bring supplies and help with the rescue. Elliston said the rescue was challenging because of the terrain and the fact the plane was lodged into the ground at a steep angle, though he said people on board remained calm throughout.

“They were injured, but it was a quiet situation,” he said. “People were conscious and coherent, but there was no pandemonium. There was not much screaming. It was quiet and reasonable inside.”

He said rescuers had to stabilize each person on a spinal board before pulling them up to the back of the plane and getting them to safety.

“It was very physically demanding and challenging,” he said, adding the rescue team grew from five people to a total of 13. All the survivors had been taken to hospital in Comox by 7 p.m., and some were later transferred to other hospitals.

Police and Sonicblue would not release the identities of any of the victims Sunday. Reading from a prepared statement, however, a Sonicblue spokesman did say: “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who were on board the flight and to their families.”

Nikolas Chapman, the company’s operations manager, refused to give any details about the plane or the company, and would not answer questions. Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board were at the site of the crash on Sunday along with the local coroner and members of the Port Alberni RCMP.

In October, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board recommended the type of Cessna that crashed on Saturday be grounded in icy conditions. The same type of plane crashed Oct. 6 in Winnipeg, killing a 49-yearold Moncton, N.B., resident. A reported 33 people have been killed in 12 ice-related crashes in Cessna 208 aircraft in the past 15 years. Environment Canada recorded a temperature of 7 C in Tofino Saturday, with little wind, while the temperature in Port Alberni was 3 C. No major storms were reported in the area.

jfowlie@png.canwest.com –– with files from CanWest News Service and Canadian Press

This story can be heard online after 10:30 a.m. today at http://www.vancouversun.com/readaloud.

and..

Engine of crashed plane was recently overhauled

BY ROB SHAW

The engine of the Sonicblue Airways plane that crashed near Port Alberni Saturday had recently been overhauled and is the focus of the investigation into the crash, say federal transportation investigators.

The engine of the Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft had less than 200 hours of flight time since it had been overhauled, said Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill Yearwood.

“It’s early in its life since overhaul,” he said.

But it is too soon to determine what may have caused the plane’s engine to fail, said Yearwood. Two men and a boy died in the crash, while four women and a baby girl survived.

The pilot issued a mayday call just before 2 p.m., asking to make a “dead stick” landing at Port Alberni airport, a reference to the fact the plane’s single engine had malfunctioned. At the time, the plane was 9,000 feet in the air, he said. It glided for about 24 kilometres before crashing into a steep snow-covered slope, its front end lodging in the ground and its wings buckling on either side.

The damage to the front end, also caused by the plane hitting tree stumps on a logged stretch of land, caused “extreme” damage to the front part of the plane, he said. Investigators would like to testrun the engine, but are not sure if it will still operate after becoming buried in the ground upon impact, he said.

The wreckage remains mostly in one piece, and will be removed by helicopter to the board’s Richmond lab today, said Yearwood. Investigators will also look at marks on the trees to determine its angle of descent, and have recorded the weather information at the time.

It was about three degrees in Port Alberni Saturday afternoon, with light winds and no storms reported, said Environment Canada.

The model of plane that crashed, the Cessna 208 Caravan, had been the focus of three urgent safety recommendations issued by the United States National Transportation Safety Board last week. The safety board had alerted the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration that the plane should be grounded in icing conditions due to recent crashes, such as one Oct. 6 in Winnipeg that killed a Moncton pilot. But in the skies above Port Alberni Saturday, icing may not have been an issue.

“We don’t believe they were in an area of icing conditions,” said Yearwood. “Icing was forecast above 10,000 feet in cloud more on the mainland, and we know they were at 9,000 feet when they had the problem with the engine. We don’t rule it out, but our focus is mainly on the engine.”

No Conflict · Post by **No Conflict** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:49 am

My deepest condolences and sympathies to all people and families aboard.

Great job by the pilot. Looks like a helluva place to attempt an emergency landing.

Too many of these happening lately.

NC

ptc · Post by **ptc** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 9:05 am

Would be appreciated if someone could PM me with the name or initials of the pilot as I have a friend (knowing him for 20 years) who works for Sonicblue

My condolences go out to the families of the passengers and pilot

Darcy Coonfer · Post by **Darcy Coonfer** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 9:36 am

To you my Friend, Brother and Colleague:

For the 3 and half years and the hundreds of hours you and I
have logged together.....are grains of sand in a lifetime you
have enrichened.

You will truly be missed, love ya "Big Guy"

Darcy Coonfer

Flying Nutcracker · Post by **Flying Nutcracker** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 11:35 am

To all of you at Sonic Blue, the families and friends of the involved, my deepest condolences!

I take my hat of to the pilot who obviously did the best job he could ever do putting the plane down the way he did!

To the guys busting your butts at Sonic Blue, I know you are all great people, doing what you love to do the most. It's just unfortunate that you are victims of a cruel industry. I hope that lessons will be learned from this tragic accident, so that accidents like this will be avoided in the future!

Listen to the parents of the pilot who clearly understands the imense pressure young pilots go through every day working for operators that will demand the impossible, in the hopes of one day being able to work for West Jet or Air Canada. There's only one that can help the young pilot actually make it that far, Transport Canada. It's time to step up to the plate and be more pro-active.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all involved in this horrible accident!

FN

2R · Post by 2R » Mon Jan 23, 2006 11:39 am

Who overhauled the engine ?
Who R & R the engine ?
What indications did the pilot have that an engine problem existed ?

The sad part of this it looks like it was preventable.

boeingboy · Post by **boeingboy** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:15 pm

They gave the pilots name on the news........he was 25. The company didn't even call his parents - his dad had to do 2 hours of phone calls and finally the Port Alberni RCMP finally told him. Unbelieveable.

News is also reporting TC has suspended Sonic's OC.

Longtimer · Post by **Longtimer** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:19 pm

Airline suffered earlier tragedies

Officials also said they plan to closely examine the safety record of Sonicblue Airways, the Vancouver-based company that owns the plane.

The company grounded all flights after the crash.

It wasn't the first tragedy for Sonicblue, which used to be called Regency Express. In 2002, three people were killed on one of their planes as it tried to take off. In 1998, two of its pilots died in a Cessna Caravan 208 on Salt Spring Island.

In 2005, the company was fined for failing to properly maintain their aircraft and for letting students pilot commercial flights.
The complete article can be found at
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national ... 60122.html

loopy · Post by **loopy** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 1:53 pm

My sincerest condlences. I did not know the pilot involved, but I don't need to to feel the sadness of the situation. One of our brothers has been lost to this passion and career that most of us here share. I've lost friends in this business, and every other one I hear of is fresh wound to me.

God speed, my friend. My prayers go out to you and your family, and to the other victimd and families.

BCjet · Post by **BCjet** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:01 pm

I used to see him when I would be around Avitat. He seemed like a professional guy and mature around his younger peers. Though I didn't really know him, I think there are more than a few people out there know he did all he could do.

His Mom & Dad seemed to be strong during their interview on Global. I understand what his Dad was saying about pilots wanting/needing to get more hours. I know alot of people (incl. me) that have flown questionable airplanes and worked under pressure from management to keep their jobs.

God Bless him and those affected...

scabber · Post by **scabber** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:30 pm

If anyone else in the industry would like to help end the regency/sonicblue saga, give me a PM.

The media should know what regency/sonicblue... and the entire sloppy mess of the majority of 703 carriers is all about.

A wonderful guy dying doing what he loves is one thing, as he accepted the danger...... innocent fare paying vacationers dying is another.... especially when the flying public honestly believes that government oversight can and will prevent tragedies like this.

Sonicblue management, in my opinion, you are responsible for this tragic loss of life. A sincere sarcasitic thanks, for stealing the dreams of young pilots, in order to finance your soulless exsistance.

He will be missed... He was one of the guys that would have made it big.. a skilled guy, and a nice human being.

awful...

Longtimer · Post by **Longtimer** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 2:34 pm

No. P01/06
For release January 23, 2006

TRANSPORT CANADA
SUSPENDS INTERNATIONAL EXPRESS
AIRCHARTER LTD.’S AIR OPERATOR CERTIFICATE
VANCOUVER, B.C. — Transport Canada today announced the suspension of International Express Aircharter Ltd.’s air operator certificate, effective immediately. Without an air operator certificate, a company cannot provide commercial air services in Canada. International Express Aircharter Ltd. also does business as Regency Express Flight Operations and Sonicblue Airways.

The decision to suspend the Air Operator Certificate was based on a review of the company's record and concerns with the company’s ability to exercise operational control, including proper record keeping and aircraft maintenance. Today’s suspension does not preclude any further regulatory action at a later date.

Transport Canada has taken this action in the interest of public safety and will be conducting a full audit of International Express Aircharter Ltd’s operation. The company will need to demonstrate that it meets all applicable rules and regulations before its air operator certificate will be re-instated.

This action follows the January 21, 2006 tragic accident near Port Alberni involving a Cessna 208 Caravan operated by Sonicblue Airways, enroute to Vancouver International Airport from Tofino. Transport Canada is cooperating fully with the Transportation Safety Board investigation into the Port Alberni accident and appointed a Minister’s Observer to keep the department informed of the investigation’s progress. Any safety deficiencies identified through the Transportation Safety Board's investigation will be addressed immediately.

International Express Aircharter Ltd. has the right to appeal Transport Canada's enforcement action to the Transportation Appeal Tribunal of Canada.

- 30 -

Contact:
Rod Nelson
Transport Canada Communications
Vancouver
(604) 666-1675

Capt · Post by **Capt** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 3:29 pm

a three year old didn't have to lose their life, a 25 year pilot didn't have to lose his life three days before leaving (safety issues)for an interview to a GOOD company, 4 young pilots didn't have to lose their lives (navair) weeks before one was to leave the company becasue of safety issues (said by family). When will it stop? when we stand up for what is right.

FOR ALL OF YOU THAT WANT TO SHITKICK ME LIKE MY NAVAIR POST, PLEASE CALL THE FAMILIES OF OUR LOST FRIENDS AND PILOTS AND HEAR WHAT THEIR PROSPECTIVE IS ON THE SAFETY ISSUES AT THESE COMPANIES.

V1 · Post by V1 » Mon Jan 23, 2006 4:33 pm

It's time for Transport to do there job, and hopefully this will be the end of crappy companies finding the loop holes to jump through.
If anyone was a stronger advocate for safety and change it was the pilot that passed away in this incident. So let's hope things do change. They have too.

Wild Cat · Post by **Wild Cat** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 6:27 pm

first off, my condolenses to all those affected by this tragedy.
I dont know a lot about this company, but it has a history of bad maintenance. But then again, how many companies do this.
I think something should be done for sure, because there are peoples lives involved over the game of making money.
But what really disturbs me a lot as well is that they had a student pilot operating a commercial flight.
Holy smokes

Big Pistons Forever · Post by **Big Pistons Forever** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 7:21 pm

Unfortunately it once again takes an airplane half buried in the ground and dead passengers, before the OC is suspended

groundtoflightdeck · Post by **groundtoflightdeck** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:12 pm

This was interesting.

[quote]Pilot killed in crash had safety worries, dad says
Last Updated Mon, 23 Jan 2006 19:48:17 EST
CBC News
The father of the pilot who was killed in a plane crash on Vancouver Island on Saturday says his son was seriously concerned about the safety record of the aircraft.

Three people died and five others are in hospital after a Sonicblue Airways flight from Tofino to Vancouver crashed into a clearcut near Port Alberni on Saturday.

FROM JAN. 21, 2006: Plane carrying eight people crashes on Vancouver Island

Jonathan Huggett said his 25-year-old son Edward flew for Sonicblue for three years, but wanted to leave the airline over safety concerns.

Huggett said his son told him the Cessna 208 had major icing problems flying over the coast mountains.

Last week, the U.S. Transportation Safety Board issued an urgent advisory prohibiting Cessna 208s from flying in icing conditions. No such restriction is in place in Canada.

Thirty-three people have died in Cessna 208 crashes over the last 15 years as result of ice build-up.

"I have to be careful what I say to you," Jonathan Huggett said. "I will only say to you what I know to be fact. My son reported to me that he was frightened by flying in the last few months, that there were a number of safety issues he reported to me and we urged him to in fact leave the airline."
[quote]

Flying Nutcracker · Post by **Flying Nutcracker** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:22 pm

It sounds like Huggett was on the verge of doing what everyone should be doing but afraid to... leave the company. Not only that... by the sounds of it his flying was cut in half and only to weekends because he wanted to address issues to TC ( according to Global TV). The management obviously didn't like this. But he did it anyways.

In many ways he has set a presedence to all of us out there to stand our ground and start doing what we all have to do when things are not up to safety standards... refuse to compromise safety!

There sure is a lot of scrutiny going on now, and I am glad! I think there will be someone in for a hurting really bad! And it should not be the pilots!

I am just saddened and sickened by the fact that it took yet another fatal accident to get the ball rolling!

FN

angel · Post by **angel** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:28 pm

Flying Nutcracker wrote:It sounds like Huggett was on the verge of doing what everyone should be doing but afraid to... leave the company. Not only that... by the sounds of it his flying was cut in half and only to weekends because he wanted to address issues to TC ( according to Global TV). The management obviously didn't like this. But he did it anyways.

In many ways he has set a presedence to all of us out there to stand our ground and start doing what we all have to do when things are not up to safety standards... refuse to compromise safety!

There sure is a lot of scrutiny going on now, and I am glad! I think there will be someone in for a hurting really bad! And it should not be the pilots!

I am just saddened and sickened by the fact that it took yet another fatal accident to get the ball rolling!

FN

Caravan Down Vancouver Island

I heard poor attitude was purpose of cut back...