Carson Air Flight 66 was a Swearingen Metro II turboprop aircraft on a domestic cargo flight from Vancouver to Prince George, both in British Columbia, Canada. On 13 April 2015, the aircraft crashed into a mountain en route to Prince George Airport, killing both crew members.[1]
 C-GSKC, the Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II involved in the crash | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 13 April 2015 |
| Summary | In-flight breakup |
| Site | North Shore Mountains, British Columbia, Canada 49°24′32″N 123°05′35″W / 49.4090°N 123.0930°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II |
| Operator | Carson Air |
| IATA flight No. | CA66 |
| Call sign | ECLIPSE 66 |
| Registration | C-GSKC |
| Flight origin | Vancouver International Airport, Vancouver, Canada |
| Destination | Prince George Airport, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupants | 2 |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 2 |
| Fatalities | 2 |
| Survivors | 0 |
History of the flight edit
The flight had taken off from Vancouver International Airport at approximately 7:02 PDT. The aircraft subsequently descended from 2,400 meters to 900 meters in less than a minute. Air traffic controllers lost radar contact with the aircraft as it was en route to Prince George at roughly 7:08.[2][3]
Aircraft and crew edit
The aircraft, a twin-turboprop Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II, serial number TC-325, registered C-GSKC, was manufactured in 1977. Carson Air was its only operator. The aircraft was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder.[2]
The crew consisted of only the cockpit crew, 34-year-old pilot Robert Brandt and 32-year-old co-pilot Kevin Wang.[4][3]
Search edit
The aircraft crashed into a hillside area near Crown Mountain, a part of the North Shore Mountains.[2][5] Two helicopters and two aircraft from North Shore Rescue participated in the search for the wreckage of the aircraft, which was slowed by poor weather conditions.[6] It was later discovered that the emergency locating transmitter was activated, but did not send out a signal.[7]
Investigation edit
The accident was investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), which determined the cause of the accident to be an in-flight breakup caused by a rapid descent. However, no definite reason was found as to why the descent was initiated. [7] An autopsy performed on the two pilots by the British Columbia Coroner Service revealed that pilot Brandt had a blood alcohol level of 0.24 percent, three times the legal limit for a driver.[8][9][10]
References edit
- ^ "Carson Air – Pilot career centre". Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ a b c "ASN Aircraft accident Swearingen SA226-TC Metro II C-GSKC Vancouver, BC". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ a b "Robert Brandt and Kevin Wang identified as victims of B.C. plane crash". CBC News. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "Grisly wreckage revealed". Castanet.net. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Wreckage Found After Carson Air Plane Vanishes During Trip From Vancouver To Prince George, B.C." The Huffington Post Canada. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "Carson Air Flight 66: Plane believed found in B.C.'s North Shore mountains". Arffwg.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ a b "Aviation Investigation A15P0081". Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "Canada 's Blood Alcohol Laws Among the Strictest in the Western World". Canada Safety Council. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
- ^ "Coroners Office Reports Pilot Of Carson Air Flight 66 Was Intoxicated". Avstop.com. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
- ^ "Robert Brandt, Carson Air pilot killed in B.C. plane crash, had alcohol in system". Newsjs.com. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved April 13, 2016.