Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

ACHO DENE KOE/FORT LIARD - Both the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the NWT Coroner's Office are investigating a plane crash near Fort Liard Aug. 21 that killed the pilot.

Cam Lancaster, an Alberta-based co-owner of Nahanni Butte Outfitters hunting guide operation, was fatally injured when the Piper PA18-150 Super Cub he was piloting crashed at roughly 4:30 p.m. The plane went down into tall trees about 100 km northwest of Fort Liard near Jackfish Creek.

Lancaster was airlifted by helicopter to Nahanni Butte where he was pronounced dead by a medical team flown in from Fort Simpson, according to a press release from the RCMP.

The surviving passenger, Chris Meshue, who also works for the outfitters, sustained only minor injuries. He was flown to Fort Simpson for a medical examination and later released.

Photos taken by RCMP indicate the plane descended vertically, nose down, into the trees, said Jon Lee, western regional manager of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

"It's safe to say the aircraft was not in control when it hit the trees," Lee said.

The crash left a very short wreckage trail. The Piper Super Cub is a single-engine, fabric-covered aircraft with tandem seating.

On Aug. 27 Lee said the plane was to be recovered by insurance adjusters and a salvage company over the next few days. The Transportation Safety Board will gather more photos from the wreckage and obtain information from Nahanni Butte Outfitters after Lancaster's funeral.

In particular, the safety board is interested in a hand-held GPS that was on board the plane. The GPS could show the speed, altitude and any turns the plane made before it hit the trees, said Lee.

"There's nothing to indicate there was anything wrong with the aircraft at this point," he said.

But Lee said it's too early to point to pilot error as the cause of the crash. The investigation will be ongoing over the next few weeks as more data is collected.