http://www.piquenewsmagazine.com/pique/ ... crash+1602Plane crashes on Terra Rosa Glacier
Three people in Cessna 172 rescued, uninjured
By Jesse Ferreras
Published 2009-01-07 17:05:06
Pemberton RCMP are working with Transport Canada to figure out what caused a Dec. 20 plane crash on Terra Rosa Glacier, 20 miles northeast of Squamish.
At about 4:07 p.m. the RCMP received a report regarding a GPS spot beacon activation. They later confirmed a plane had gone down near the glacier in Garibaldi Provincial Park, according to an RCMP news release.
Another plane in the area made contact with the crashed plane and discovered there were three people on board with adequate survival gear. There were no injuries.
The plane was a Cessna 172, a high-wing aircraft that can accommodate a total of four passengers. All three people on board the plane were "plucked off" without further incident after the crash, according to Captain Dave Bowes, air coordinator at Victoria's Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
The Victoria JRCC first caught wind of the crash at about 2 p.m. in the afternoon. A Buffalo aircraft and Cormorant helicopter were dispatched to help the downed passengers. The Buffalo and the Cormorant took off at about 5 p.m., just as the sun was going down. Rescuers arrived on scene just after 6 p.m. and were able to retrieve the passengers by about 7:30 p.m.
When asked why the plane crashed, Bowes said, "I don't know. We don't ask why you crash, we rescue you."
The JRCC did, at one point, request ground support from Pemberton Search and Rescue but they were never tasked, according to Dave Steers with Pemberton's SAR.
RCMP are still trying to determine the cause of the crash
Here's the CADORs ...
Seeing that the TSB has this as a Class 5 Occurrence (i.e. there will be no investigation for cause), this part of the article stood out to me more than it did originally ...CADORS Number: 2008P2197 Reporting Region: Pacific
Occurrence InformationOccurrence Type: Accident Occurrence Date: 2008/12/21
Occurrence Time: 0023 Z Day Or Night: night-time
Fatalities: 0 Injuries: 0
Canadian Aerodrome ID: Aerodrome Name:
Occurrence Location: Terra Rosa Glacier - NW corner of Pitt Lake Province: British Columbia
Country: CANADA World Area: North America
Reported By: NAV CANADA AOR Number: 102880-V1
TSB Class Of Investigation: 5 TSB Occurrence No.: A08P0387
Event InformationCollision with terrain
Aircraft InformationFlight #:
Aircraft Category: Aeroplane Country of Registration: CANADA
Make: CESSNA Model: 172K
Year Built: 1969 Amateur Built: No
Engine Make: AVCO LYCOMING Engine Model: O-360-A1A
Engine Type: Reciprocating Gear Type:
Phase of Flight: Cruise Damage: No Damage
Owner: Private Operator:
Operator Type: Private
Detail InformationUser Name: Matthews, Meghan
Date: 2008/12/22
Further Action Required: No
O.P.I.: General Aviation
Narrative: A privately registered Cessna C172 VFR origin and destination unknown Report received that an aircraft had crashed on the glacier.
User Name: Matthews, Meghan
Date: 2008/12/24
Further Action Required: Yes
O.P.I.: General Aviation
Narrative: UPDATE/ Add info from TSB: A08P0387: The Cessna 172 overturned during an attempted touch-and-go at the 6600 foot level of the Terrarosa Glacier in Garibaldi Provincial Park, about 40 nm NNE of Vancouver, BC. The aircraft was substantially damaged but the three occupants were uninjured and were rescued by a JRCC Cormorant helicopter about three hours after the accident. The aircraft had been modified via STC to a tail-dragger configuration and was equipped with 31" Alaska Bushwheel tundra tires. After the aircraft overturned the pilot removed the aircraft's ELT, extended its antenna, placed the unit on the snow, and activated it. As well, one of the passengers pressed the "Help Me" button on a Spot Tracker unit (a GPS-based tracking unit capable of sending an emergency signal which includes a GPS location) he'd brought on the flight. The pilot attempted to use a portable aviation band radio to broadcast a Pan Pan to Vancouver Centre. Although Vancouver Centre did not receive the radio signal, a Pacific Coastal flight passing overhead was able to communicate with the overturned aircraft and passed the communication on to Vancouver Centre. The accident occurred at about 15:15 Pacific Standard Time (PST). The RCMP were contacted by the Spot Tracker company who reported the "Help Me" signal, and the RCMP contacted JRCC at 16:07. Because the Spot Tracker was registered to the owner of an ultralight aircraft, some confusion arose during rescue efforts as to what type of aircraft was missing. The accident aircraft's ELT signal was heard at 16:51. Snow had been falling in the area for several days prior to the accident. Sunset occurred at about 16:14 (PST).
If we were to presume that this accident was a result of the pilot doing something he/she shouldn't have been doing (kind of like skiing in an "out of bounds" area) ... should he/she then be held financially responsible for the SAR effort?When asked why the plane crashed, Bowes said, "I don't know. We don't ask why you crash, we rescue you."
