CANADAINBRIEF

Report says pilot unable to recover

KAMLOOPS — The Transportation Safety Board has concluded that a 16-year-old pilot was unable to recover from a manoeuvre, sending the plane he was operating into a high-speed nosedive in mountainous terrain west of Kamloops.

Lorne Perreault died in the crash in what the TSB investigation said was supposed to be a two-hour training flight on Aug. 6, 2013.

Man shoots self targeting coyotes

CALGARY — Eternally outsmarted cartoon character Wile E. Coyote has come out on top for once.

Calgary police say a man was aiming at the real-life critters on his rural property southeast of the city when he accidentally shot himself in the arm.

They say he wasn’t breaking any laws by shooting coyotes on his own land, but officers are still investigating.

The man’s injuries are not serious.

CF-18s to fly for another decade

OTTAWA — The Harper government says it will extend the life of its aging fleet of CF-18 fighters.

The jets are an important component of Canada’s defence and will be updated to keep them flying for another decade, said Johanna Quinney, a spokeswoman for Defence Minister Rob Nicholson.

“We remain committed to ensuring that our brave men and women in uniform have the equipment that they need to do the work that is asked of them,” Quinney said.

“As a result, we will be extending the life of our CF-18 fleet to 2025 to ensure that Canada has a multi-role, fighter jet capability throughout the next decade.”

Quinney did not say how much the government intends to spend on the upgrade, which would focus on further updating electronics and strengthening the airframes, or how it affects the decision whether to proceed with the plan to purchase new F-35 stealth fighters to replace the CF-18s.