Tue, Jan 09, 2007
But It's Still Too Soon To Know For Certain
Investigators in Saskatchewan are working to determine what
role the weather may have played in the downing of a medevac King
Air 100 Sunday about 1,000 feet shy of the runway in Sandy Bay,
killing the pilot and injuring three others onboard.
Officials with Prince Albert-based on-demand airline Transwest
Air say the plane departed La Ronge to pick up a patient in Sandy
Bay. The 52-year-old pilot died at the scene; the 24-year-old
copilot and two EMTs were taken to a Saskatoon hospital with
non-life-threatening injuries.
Transwest spokesperson Ken Landers said the three suffered
broken bones.
Officials aren't certain what brought the plane down, although
many are pointing to the weather as a possible factor in the crash.
Although Sandy Bay doesn't have a weather reporting station,
witnesses say visibility may have been poor as the plane came in to
land.
"At this time, it appears, and I want to underline the word
appears, that weather may have been a contributing factor," Landers
told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "That's the only thing we can think
of at this point in time, but that's more or less speculation."
Those witness reports don't necessarily match conditions
reported in the area by Environment Canada, however. The weather
agency says the temperature was five degrees Fahrenheit in Sandy
Bay at the time of the crash, with a calm wind from the southeast.
It is not known if any precipitation was falling.
Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation regional airport
coordinator Peter Heal said the runway at Sandy Bay had been
plowed, and the runway lights were operating.
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