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

BREAKING

BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants

Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.

Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence

During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.

Stay Connected