Can be found HERE.
Men killed in chopper crash "much more than employees" — UPDATED with new interview
Posted By PJ WILSON The Nugget
Updated 3 hours ago
There were no flight data recorders on a helicopter that crashed near Elk Lake Friday, although National Transportation Safety Board investigators believe they can retrieve information from other components on the ill-fated flight.
Ken Webster, regional senior investigator with the TSB, operating out of Richmond Hill, Ont., said Monday the helicopter was not required to have a flight data recorder.
Two men, John Tumchewics, 21, of Yellowknife, and Ethan Boucha, 20, of Kenora, died when the Bell 206B they were flying crashed in a heavily wooded area between Elk Lake and Gowganda.
The men were "much more than employees," according to a spokesman for Essential Helicopters of North Bay, which employed the men and owned the helicopter.
Both were licensed pilots, but according to Webster, they had only received their commercial ratings "recently."
He said he hopes further information on the crash will be available later this week.
The two men were on a flight from North Bay to Kapuskasing when the accident occurred. Investigators have received reports of poor weather in the area at the time of the accident, including overcast skies, low ceilings and a light drizzle, according to witnesses.
"We are working closely with the Transportation Safety Board to try to determine the cause of this accident," Lavern Ross, chief flight instructor with the company, said in a media release.
"The investigation is ongoing and is a long process. We have no further information at this time.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families as we all struggle to understand this tragedy."
The Bell 206B "hit a (communications) tower and subsequently impacted the ground," said Webster.
Ontario Provincial Police received an emergency call from a berry picker at about 2 p.m. Friday. It took police about 50 minutes to reach the scene.
Elk Lake is 130 kilometres north of North Bay. Gowganda is about 30 kilometres west of Elk Lake.
Just babies. :(
2 comments:
And we've been there, haven't we? VFR in lowering weather, dropping down a couple of hundred feet, a couple of hundred more, and hey, it's a helicopter if things get really bad we can land right here.
Fly safe, Dagny. Vote liberal, fly conservative.
was going to bite, but I have decided against it.
and liberal? really? bahahah. :D
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