Plane crash survivors blamed for injuries
Company defends itself by claiming passengers, witnesses were negligent during 2011 crash in Old Town
Shane Magee
Northern News Services
Friday, December 23, 2016
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
An airline being sued by survivors and witnesses of a plane crash in Old Town five years ago has defended itself by claiming those people didn't do enough to prevent their alleged injuries.
Matthew Grogono was one of the many witnesses to the accident on Sept. 22, 2011, in which an Arctic Sunwest floatplane crashed on McDonald Drive. Grogono was among the first people to arrive at the scene to help evacuate passengers. - NNSL file photo |
A lawsuit was filed against Arctic Sunwest Charters in June 2013 by passengers and witnesses for physical and psychological injuries they claim were caused by pilot negligence.
The company's de Havilland Twin Otter crashed Sept. 22, 2011 during an attempt to land on Great Slave Lake.
After touching down on Great Slave Lake the crew aborted the landing and attempted to take off. The plane clipped a power line and crashed into the Aurora Geosciences Ltd. building, coming to rest in a parking lot. First officer Nicole Stacey, 26, and Trevor Jonasson, 36, died and four of the seven passengers were seriously injured.
A wife of one of the passengers is included in the case, claiming she suffered psychologically from seeing the aftermath of the crash and believing her fiance was among the dead. A person working in the building hit by the plane also claimed psychological injury from seeing the crash aftermath.
The company's statement of defence filed in 2014 says if the passengers were injured as claimed, which the company denies, "their injuries were caused by their own negligence" by failing to "keep a proper look out; in failing to use, or properly use, the available seatbelts; in failing to heed the advice of the captain or first officer; in failing to exit the aircraft in a timely manner, or as instructed; and in failing to take reasonable care for their own safety in all of the circumstances."
It goes on to add that if two witnesses were injured, it was because they went to or stayed near the crash scene.
An independent Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigation found three causes or contributing factors to the crash in its report, released in early 2013. First, changing airspeed with gusty wind caused a bounce during landing. When the plane tried to take off to re-attempt the landing, the crew used "improper" techniques resulting in the loss of control of the plane. Finally, the board stated it's possible that confused crew co-ordination during the attempted go-around contributed to the loss of control.
The lawsuit claims the accident was "caused solely by the negligence of Arctic Sunwest" in failing to use reasonable care and skill to fly and land the plane, attempting the landing in severe cross winds, failing to monitor airspeed during approach and operating the plane in a "reckless or negligent" manner which endangered lives.
It claims the company is responsible for the actions of the pilots. Arctic Sunwest Charters was purchased by Ledcor Group of Companies in August 2012 and integrated with Summit Air the following year.
The allegations have not been proven in court and it's not clear when the case may resume.
