SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Those looking for definitive answers about two fatal plane crashes in and near Yellowknife last fall will have to wait a little longer than expected, Yellowknifer has learned.
While the Transportation Safety Board sets a benchmark for itself to release public reports on accidents within 12 months of the incident, neither the report on an Arctic Sunwest charter flight nor Air Tindi flight AT200 are expected to be complete within that time frame, said Jon Lee, western regional manager for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).
On Sept. 22, 2011, an Arctic Sunwest Twin Otter floatplane crashed into the Aurora Geosciences building in Old Town, killing pilot Trevor Jonasson and first officer Nicole Stacey. All seven passengers, who were returning to Yellowknife after a trip to the Avalon Rare Metals site at Thor Lake, survived. While Yellowknifer has previously published eye-witness accounts from that day, stating the plane had been struggling to land in high-wind conditions on Yellowknife Bay before the crash, the TSB has yet to released any information regarding the incident.
Less than two weeks later, two Yellowknife residents died when an Air Tindi Cessna 208B plowed into a hill 48 km west of the small hamlet of Lutsel K'e. Two passengers escaped that crash while pilot Matthew Bromley and passenger Timothy Harris died on scene. Shortly after the crash, TSB investigator-in-charge told Yellowknifer that the ill-fated flight had collided with the west face of a cliff in the Pethei Peninsula during a time when there was a low cloud ceiling and light rain in the area. Again, a confirmed cause of the accident has yet to be released.
Both the Lutsel K'e and Old Town accident investigations are in what the safety board calls the "report production phase," said Lee. This means that the investigation portions, such as the examination of the crash sites and technical analysis of the wrecks, are complete. After that phase, a draft report must be written and reviewed before it is officially released, which can take several months, he said.
In the Arctic Sunwest crash, the draft report has been written and forwarded to people with direct interest in the incident, said Lee.
"That means that people like the operator, Arctic Sunwest, the next of kin of flight crew, Nav Canada, Transport Canada, those types of folks are going to be given a copy of the draft report in order to comment on it to ensure that it is factually correct," he said. "It's sort of an extra layer of review that we do to make sure that we get the story correct."
The timing of when the final report will be released to the public depends on the feedback received from those with direct interest in the incident, said Lee.
"Sometimes, we may have to re-analyze or re-investigate or collect new information depending on the arguments," he said.
That said, the Arctic Sunwest crash report is expected to be released in November or December of this year, said Lee.
The Air Tindi report is currently still being drafted, and is expected to be sent out for review soon, said Lee.
The Transportation Safety Board anticipates that report will be released to the public in January or February of 2013.
