Safety board calls for more flight recorders
Investigation failed to determine cause of 2016 crash that killed Jim Prentice
The Transportation Safety Board says it can’t determine the cause of the 2016 plane crash that killed former Alberta premier Jim Prentice and three passengers because the Cessna Citation 500 involved did not have a flight recording system.
In its report on the Oct. 13, 2016 plane crash near Kelowna, B.C., released Thursday, the TSB is recommending the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems by all commercial and private business operators not currently required to carry them.
TSB chairwoman Kathy Fox said that without better data, the agency can only form a hypothesis about the cause.
But the most likely crash scenario is that pilot Jim Kruk — who was dealing with a high workload — experienced spatial disorientation as the plane departed from controlled flight shortly after takeoff.
Kruk was an experienced pilot but the TSB also found he did not have the recent night flying experience required by Transport Canada for carrying passengers at night.
“When a pilot is very busy, as this pilot would have been during the takeoff phase ... and because of his limited recent night-flying experience and limited recent instrument-flying experience, he would be more susceptible to this phenomenon,” Fox told reporters at a Calgary news conference
“The sensations can lead to a feeling of tumbling backwards or vertigo because of the balance system in the inner ear. And it can actually cause a pilot to push forward on the controls and turn, thinking he’s actually levelling out ... that’s why it’s so insidious and so dangerous.”
The TSB said it’s also concerned about a lack of oversight by Transport Canada over private business aviation, finding no record that the federal agency had inspected the operator of the aircraft, Norjet Inc.
“We don’t like having to say ‘We don’t know’ when asked what caused an accident,” said Fox.
“We want to be able to provide a definitive answer ... this is why we are calling today for the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems on commercial and business aircraft not currently required to carry them.”
There is no legislation requiring smaller planes to carry so-called black boxes, despite recommendations from the safety board dating back to 1991 calling for the installation of the devices.
Shortly after the 2016 crash, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said the government would look at potential regulatory changes given that advances in technology had made such systems more cost-effective.
In a statement Thursday, Garneau said department officials were looking closely at the report and would respond within 90 days, as required.
“Transport Canada takes recommendations from the Transportation Safety Board very seriously and shares their goal of maintaining and improving the safety of Canada’s transportation network.”
Prentice and the other men had been in Kelowna for a round of golf.
Just minutes after taking off at about 9:30 p.m. to return to Springbank, the plane made a steep descending turn to the right until it struck the ground.
Prentice served as a federal cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and was premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015. Besides Prentice and Kruk, Dr. Ken Gellatly, the father-in-law to one of Prentice’s daughters, and Calgary businessman Sheldon Reid were killed in the 2016 crash.
Prentice’s family issued a statement thanking the TSB for their work.
“While this report cannot restore what has been lost, it is our hope the learnings from this tragic event can be used to prevent similar accidents in the future.”
We don’t like having to say ‘We don’t know’ when asked what caused an accident.