Five Deaths Demand Justice Petition

[Widow]

It is the governments job to keep the public safe.

.

It is not only the governments job, it is the job of the owners, the pilots, the mechanics and all staff. The government could only make the operation 100% safe, if they had a government inspector standing behind every airline employee (owner on down) to make sure they operated in a safe manner. As long as anyone in the chain of responsibility is willing to cut corners, operate unsafe equipment etc. the industry will never be truly safe.

Agreed. But when those responsible for cutting corners and jeopardizing safety are not penalized effectively when caught, then the government has again shirked it's duty.

[Longtimer]

It is the governments job to keep the public safe.

.

It is not only the governments job, it is the job of the owners, the pilots, the mechanics and all staff. The government could only make the operation 100% safe, if they had a government inspector standing behind every airline employee (owner on down) to make sure they operated in a safe manner. As long as anyone in the chain of responsibility is willing to cut corners, operate unsafe equipment etc. the industry will never be truly safe.

Agreed. But when those responsible for cutting corners and jeopardizing safety are not penalized effectively when caught, then the government has again shirked it's duty.

You are of course quite right there.

[Inverted2]

This is starting to sound like the airport security debate. Accidents do happen from time to time, the only way to make it 100% safe would be to ban all airplanes just like banning all passengers would make air security 100% safe.

Little companies cant be watched all the time, and there are always going to be engine failures, shoddy mantinance procedures and pilot errors!

[Cat Driver]

Little companies cant be watched all the time, and there are always going to be engine failures, shoddy mantinance procedures and pilot errors

!

And if a pilot or engineer could go to TC about companies who skirt the regulations and have something done about it wouldn't that improve things?

As it is now the only change that will take place is the person reporting such non compliance will end up unemployed with no recourse.

[Widow]

So, since accidents will always happen, we shouldn't try to learn from the ones we find to have been easily preventable?

If this accident had happened in the middle of nowhere ... rather than less than five minutes from home base (and I'd like to add, that when we were recovering the aircraft, I discovered that from the beach two blocks from home, I could actually see, without any visual aids, the exact site) I would find it a lot easier to "accept".

But it is a fact that my husbands death was easily preventable. When we found the aircraft empty, we realized that all five deaths may have been easily prevented. When the aircraft was examined we discovered that the accident could easily have been prevented - it should have been an incident. When we looked into the history of the owner, we discovered that an incident could easily have been prevented.

Since my husband died as a result of these many, easily preventable links in the chain, I will not accept a non-report without safety recommendations or repercussions. I guarantee you, if someone you loved was on that plane, you would not accept it either.

[Shotgun10]

Little companies cant be watched all the time, and there are always going to be engine failures, shoddy mantinance procedures and pilot errors!

IMHO

This attitude of "this has been happening in flying forever, so get over it"
is the accepted paradyme with most pilots because they have to live it in order to keep flying.
For too long pilots have to put up with this because they are not protected by whistle blower legislation. If a complaint is made about the company then TC has to inform them (the company) of the identity of the person complaining. TC will not action anything that is anonymous. This was caused by previous very bogus reports given by "competitors" to hinder their progress in a very competitive market.

This said, Pilots are also "prostituting" there morals and professionalism by allowing themselves to fly in these shotty aircraft. Now, before all you "bush pilot" types start chirping up with all your war stories and ego ladden triumphs.
EGO does not equal SAFETY.
Your job is to confirm the aircraft IS airworthy. You are the last line of defense, period!

[Cat Driver]

Your job is make sure the aircraft IS airworthy. you are the last line of defense, period!

Therefore there are only three choices.

Report it to TC and not only find yourself unemployed but blackballed in the sector of aviation you work in.

Just walk away from the job and say nothing about the safety issues to anyone..

Keep flying illegally and hope you don't get killed.

So which choice is best?

[Shotgun10]

Report it to TC and not only find yourself unemployed but blackballed in the sector of aviation you work in.

That is the reality of what is facing pilots today!
Without any protection from the governing bodies it will always be status quo.
TC will deny this of course because its boss is from the "old school".

[Cat Driver]

TC will deny this of course because its boss is from the "old school".

TC's boss is from the old school of " Good old boys " a clique of moral degenerates for the most part and him in particular.

And there is not a thing you can do about it except live with it if you are in aviation.

[Widow]

You could help me try to force them identify and address the problems.

[Mitch Cronin]

.... so how would you suggest one could go about helping you do that?

[Cat Driver]

.... so how would you suggest one could go about helping you do that?

One method that you as a Canadian citizen can use is put pressure on your MP.

The best example we have of malfeasance in high office in the Federal government is the corruption in the RCMP under the last top official.....

...put pressure on your MP to have a full inquiry into TCCA's top management....

...a full fair inquiry into TCCA should result in Merlin Peuss being removed from office like happened to the top guy in the RCMP.

Have your MP contact me for documentation that will help remove Preuss from office.

[Widow]

Well, besides supporting my petition (which would bring about a public inquiry to address -among other things - many of the problems inherent to the air taxi industry) there are a group of us working on our MPs and other officials. Most of the problems can and should be addressed by the various Standing Committees in the House of Commons, including but not exclusive to the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities. One way you can help is by making sure your MP knows that you are concerned. You can help with research too, like my new SATOPs project posted in the Bush Flying forum.

We can all rant and rave about the problems, but if you expect anyone to do anything, those problems have to be presented with solutions. SATOPs provided a lot of solutions, most of which have been completely ignored.

[Longtimer]

This may be a strange thought.....

Why not refuse to fly or sign out aircraft that have not been properly maintained.

Why not refuse to fly when limits are below what is allowed.

Why not band together and shut down the bad operators?

Why not do something yourself and stop relying on the feds to protect you from yourselves????????????????

[Cat Driver]

This may be a strange thought.....

Why not refuse to fly or sign out aircraft that have not been properly maintained.

Agreed:

However the end result will usually be unemployment.

Why not refuse to fly when limits are below what is allowed.

Agreed:

However the end result will usually be unemployment.

Why not band together and shut down the bad operators?

This is not really likely due to there being just to many 703 operators spread all over the country.

Why not do something yourself and stop relying on the feds to protect you from yourselves????????????????

The Feds are there to protect the public, and pilots and engineers are part of the public.

The most important issue that must be addressed is passing whistleblower protection so employees who report companies who are in contrevention of law are protected.

There is zero protection given to whistleblowers by TCCA now.

Refuse to fly or report the problems to TC and in many cases the employee is the only loser.

[carholme]

When we took our battle to the Committee hearings, there was very little support from any other operators, pilots or engineers, just lots of flaming.
You cannot change things if you are afraid of TC. That is just an excuse to do nothing and nothing is going to change until the people in the industry change it. Many of the owners are the shoddy operators and have every excuse in the book not to support change.
TC is the enabler of these companies. CID and others use the lame excuse that TC cannot be there looking over everbodys shoulder. That may be true but they can at least get their own house in order and act on what they know is wrong and believe me, they do know. They hear every rumour that goes around. We had a call a few weeks ago asking me how long I would be in my position as DOM. I informed them that as per CARs, I would send them a letter when I made that decision and that I had no intention of leaving my own company. I wonder why they bothered to check that out and yet require written and signed complaints before they will check out the shoddy operators? Did some other company provide them with a letter telling them i would be leaving my position?

We have informed our TC office that we are going to contest them on every CAR that we encounter which affects our operation and which we feel to be wrong or inappropriate. We will only follow CARs and none of their TC policy. CARs are the standard and if we follow them, we don't have to listen to anybodys opinion or policy decisions about them. You meet the standard or you do not.

You want change, do something about it but beat them at their own game.
Everytime they tell you that you need to incorporate something into your manual or operations, check it out in CARs and if it is not required, dont pay any attention to their Policy manuals, Maintenance Staff Instructions or any other interpretative document. Make your own decisions about who is running your company or operation.

One of the unfortunate things is that most of the people in this industry are pilots or engineers who on a daily basis have little to do with CARs or TC. Start your own company and you will find out quickly what crap is. As I have said before, this is our industry, not theirs

Regards

carholme

[CID]

However the end result will usually be unemployment.

So you can live to work another day for a safe company.

CID and others use the lame excuse that TC cannot be there looking over everbodys shoulder.

Lame excuse? How about “reality”. It gets quite tiring listening to people who blame the government for all of society’s ills. A reality check is in order. Unsafe companies are not unsafe because of lack of regulation. They are unsafe because the owners and operators are slimey.

There’s no shortage of engineers and pilots to work at these slimey operators because they’re often just as slimey and in contempt of the regulator.

People need to take responsibility for their actions and stop blaming the government.

If 703 operators can’t work within the regulations without intensive oversight, then maybe we need to get rid of that classification.

Personally, I see a conspiracy between slimey operators and owners and the ignorant and/or equally slimey maintainers and pilots who enable them.

[Widow]

However the end result will usually be unemployment.

So you can live to work another day for a safe company.

... and leave the unsafe conditions for the next guy/gal to deal with ...

Personally, I see a conspiracy between slimey operators and owners and the ignorant and/or equally slimey maintainers and pilots who enable them.

Which is why there should be some sort of REAL protection in place for the employee who doesn't want to be slimey, and doesn't want to leave the slime for the next guy/gal.

[carholme]

CID;

We are not blaming government for all the wrongs in society, we are blaming TC for its' inadequacy and we have a right to do so. If the regulator cannot assist the operators in bringing 703 back to a quality standard, they are not doing their job. The present system of audits and checklists is nothing other than entrapment. They have built a system of paperwork around which they determine the safety of one of the largest classes of aviation in this country. They have downloaded their oversight to the operator through this system and SMS is another tool which will be used for the same entrapment other than its intended use.
We have too many private emails from inspectors who want change within TC and they support many of the claims quoted on this site.
Your references to the "slimey" people who work for the shoddy operators is symptomatic of the TC appraisal of the situation. Maybe the "slimey" ones are on the other side of the fence, protecting their jobs and pensions.

The people working for these shoddy operators on the whole, are trying to keep their jobs as well and I wouldn't doubt that they would like to work in a better environment. Try as we might to get trhem to rat on the operators, the same situation exists in TC where those who see the need for change, don't speak out either.

carholme

[Widow]

Senator Gerry St. Germain (a commercial pilot) has recommended the case be considered by the Senate Committee on Transportation and Communications in a letter to the Vice Chair, David Tkachuk, dated June 21st, 2007.

This is the letter that got his attention:

Dear Sen. St. Germain;

More than two years ago, I lost my husband to a terrible air taxi accident off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Barely five miles from their take-off in Campbell River and still in a well-populated area with steady marine traffic - including the Quadra-Cortes bi-hourly ferry, no emergency transmission was received. My husband was not seriously injured in the accident and survived for several hours in his floater coat before slowly drowning. The full "story" can be read on our website, http://www.questforjustice.ca.

In the course of my search for answers to how this could happen, I have become more and more horrified by what I have learned about the air taxi industry in Canada.

I have come to believe there was a time when Canada was a leader in aviation knowledge, and set the world standards for aviation law. Budgetary constraints, deregulation of fares, lack of oversight, mismanagement and the many difficulties involved in overseeing such a diverse landscape have resulted in our falling far behind that example we once set.

In 1998 the Final Report on Safety in Air Taxi Operations (SATOPs) was completed, with a number of recommendations referencing operational problems in remote regions, pilot remuneration, federal oversight issues, and the need for the Transportation Safety Board to examine operational problems which may have led to accidents. Many of these recommendations have been all but ignored. In 2001, the TSB recommended (A01-01) that the "The Department of Transport undertake a review of its safety oversight methodology, resources, and practices, particularly as they relate to smaller operators and those operators who fly in or into remote areas, to ensure that air operators and crews consistently operate within the safety regulations." According to then Transport Minister David Collenette, "In advance of the TSB recommendation, Transport Canada initiated a phased study to review safety oversight methodology, resources and practices" and "Transport Canada will respond to the findings of that study as the next step in continually improving the safety of the air taxi sector". The report, known as the "DMR Report", was due to be released on September 12th. It was shelved post 9/11. The results sere never published.

In British Columbia, it is believed by most that logging is the most dangerous profession. However, the WorkSafeBC Fatalities Reports for 1989 to 1998 shows us that the fatality rate for the air taxi industry is more than twice that of logging, with a death rate of 21.5 per 10,000 people-years, compared to loggings' death rate of 9.3. Some might say things have improved over the last ten years. Yet between '89 and '98 there were 49 deaths, an average of about five deaths per year. In 2005, the year my husband (not the pilot, but a logger) was killed, there were 9 pilot deaths accepted through WorkSafeBC - nearly twice that of the previous average. Things have not gotten better.

To try to understand the aviation industry from an aviator's point of view, I became a part of an aviation forum on the internet in March of 2006. At the time, I knew very little about the industry beyond my disappointment with the TSB official accident 'report' in my own case. Over the past year, I have learned that the lack of oversight and common sense I felt had been used by the regulator's over the air taxi operator involved in my husband's death was not unique. I have learned that across the provinces there are many who feel that this happens far too often. TCCA officials currently make and enforce interpretations of policy both individually and regionally, without any system of checks and balances. Worse still, there are several who claim to have tried to complain about the errors and misconduct of various TCCA officials, and have been faced with retribution instead of justice. Offending officials have merely been moved within the department. It is believed by some, that there are several officials within the highest ranks of TCCA who have some serious transgressions to answer for. It is felt that unless these contraventions are made public, no change will take place for the better. Some of these individuals and operators are willing to come forward and have spoken privately with me, others continue to be afraid and talk only anonymously. Perhaps some of this information should be considered under the light of the newly enacted Bill C-2, the Federal Accountability Act. Currently, the TCCA runs a very large and diverse department without any third-party review system, or method by which they can truly be held accountable. There is no Ombudsman for Transport Canada.

There is currently a great deal of talk in the industry about the 'new' Safety Management System, touted by Transport Canada as being the latest fix-all. While SMS is in principle an excellent tool, it will not solve many of the problems in the air taxi industry unless Transport Canada Civil Aviation also takes a new approach. Most safe operators' already have some kind of safety system in place, and unless Transport Canada take more consideration of the recommendations made in regard to their own oversight in the Safety in Air Taxi Operations Report of 1998, SMS will make little difference in the charter air industry. Unless Bill C-2 is acted upon and enforced, Bill C-6 , An Act to Amend the Aeronautics Act, and its many positive aspects will be ineffectual. There have been many witnesses heard before the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructures and Communities who agree with my views, and as a result, recent changes to the proposed amendments have been introduced.

Air taxi pilots have no union, professional association or other effective lobbying group. A Transport Canada inspector recently made a presentation to the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities. Mr. Hugh Danford remarked that while there are over 19,000 aviation licences issued in Canada, only approxiamately 4000 of those are members of trade associations. This leaves most flight instructors, bush pilots, charter pilots, corporate pilots, agricultural spray pilots, and air ambulance pilots, among others, with no access to a professional association. Mr. Danford recommends the establishment of a mandatory professional association, with something akin to a "Federal Professional Pilots Act" to give it strength. This recommendation is likely to receive a great deal of support from those in industry.

Adding to this problem is that of accident investigation. Because of financial constraints and the limited ability of some 220 odd TSB investigators for all Transport Canada sectors to examine the causes of all accidents in all sectors, these occupational injuries and deaths are not always investigated for cause. In my case, five men lost their lives that day, due to an easily alterable though lengthy chain of events. Yet no investigation for cause is being done, as we are told nothing new can be learned. The "lack of information" touted by the TSB resulted in no investigation into infringements of the Canada Labour Code and the responsibilities of the company to maintain a safe working environment. I believe it is essential that the Worker's Compensation Boards and/or Occupational Health and Safety Boards for all the provinces and territories should be allowed to be actively involved in accident investigations where injuries or deaths of worker's have occurred. TCCA's OH&S department is not effective.

We have been demanding a public inquiry into this matter for some time. Neither the TSB nor the BC Coroner Service have responded to these demands. We believe that this accident should be a "case study" for all that is wrong with the air taxi industry.

At this time, we request a formal review of this information, and your assistance in getting a public inquiry into the events surrounding the deaths of these five souls.


Respectfully,

Kirsten Stevens

[beechdriver]

I have followed this for some time now and I am most impresed by your knowledge of the regs and of the very detailed and intelegent posts you have done widow, I cannot say the same for some of the replies on here, mostly I would suspect from people afraid for their jobs or reputations. If no one steps forward and takes up the fight TC will continue to do the requiered minimum and go home at the end of the day, operators will pad their bottom line and do as little as they can to meet the min requierments. In my experience if you want a inch try for a foot if you get more great, some people are happy the way things are I feel there is always room for improvement and if something can be done to improve on things within reason it should be, turning your back on something and hoping it will not be seen or heard from is a poor attitude by any operation, goverment or civil. I for one hope YOU don't go away, to many of my felow pilots are content to just do the job and not stand for whats right. Someone is always accountable.

WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS

[beechdriver]

oh to the critics im a pilot not a english major forgive the spelling and grammar

sea ya

ha

WHO WATCHES THE WATCHERS

[Widow]

thanks beechdriver.

I'm repeating from the "Widow Write's Another Letter" thread ...

We got the final "NO" from TSB, who have essentially said "unless you prove otherwise ... we stand by our theory that the pilot chose to fly into the water and kill everyone and there is nothing to learn from this accident which would prevent future incidents/accidents. The lack of flight following, communications, crash indicators, or other emergency devices/procedures have no bearing". Knowing my husband was still calling for help three hours later, then drowned slowly - means that I will never accept this position. With or without the engine I will be pursuing this issue.

But we still want the engine. We still believe that it is important to know what made the pilot turn around that day - we know something happened.

The TSB's "reward" of $10,000 still stands and it will take at least that to do it right.

So, the final push is on. We need your help.

We believe we know how to do it. We know the approximate location, and can easily find the engine with the right equipment. But we need to do it right because emotionally and financially, we are drained. So we need more money.

If you have a few spare dollars, and you agree this is a worthy cause ... please help fund the recovery. If you have fund raising ideas, please let us know.

TD Canada Trust
1400 Island Highway
Campbell River, BC
Transit # 9038
Acct #6259768
"Allison Decock In Trust"

If you know anyone with experience in deep water salvage, we have questions and ideas we would like to bounce around. If you know anyone who might be willing to help with donated/volunteered equipment or a boat (come hang around in an incredibly beautiful place) please let us know ...

Here is what we believe we need - an ROV able to go to depths up to 1000 feet, with a manipulator, real-time camera and sonar. We need more knowledge about dredging - the best way to blow silt at that depth ... We know this should be a relatively easy operation for someone experienced in deep water salvage - ancient wreck guys and treasure hunters and such ...

Who do you know? What can you do? Can or will you help?

[Widow]

I'm still seeing lots of pilots adding their names to the petition ... many, many thanks. You folk are what this is all about.

[cloudcounter]

So the engine has been fished for and found by the family [ not the rcmp or tc !]- it has what appears to be an UNBENT prop........
A body has said to have been sighted underwater as well I understand
I just ran across the details on pprune and presume the indefatigable Widow will update .
I trust the TC will finally get on this and the resulting investigation will clear the smear
cc