Skip to main content

Investigation launched into Tofino floatplane crash

Share
Victoria -

The Transportation Safety Board is sending a team of investigators to Tofino, B.C., to examine a crash last week between a floatplane and a water taxi.

The De Havilland Beaver plane clipped the side of an Ahousaht water taxi and flipped onto its nose in Tofino's harbour on Oct. 18.

Five people on the plane were rescued by nearby boaters.

The Nuu-cha-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) is demanding Transport Canada review regulations governing harbour activity in Tofino.

The crash was the second such incident in three months after a floatplane flipped in the harbour on takeoff. In that crash, four passengers escaped the plane with minor injuries.

"We call on Transport Canada as a priority to review the laws, regulations and policies that regulate Tofino Harbour and make changes to ensure a safer harbour," said NTC president Judith Sayers in a statement on Oct. 21.

"It is a very busy harbour with many floatplanes, water taxis, fishing boats, and other vessels that use this harbour," Sayers added. "I was in the first floatplane accident and if it was not for the quick actions of my son, Cole Sayers, I could have drowned."

The safety board says it will gather information on the recent crash and make an assessment.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Stay Connected