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The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has released more information and photos of the tragic plane crash that took place in the North Shore Mountains near Vancouver.
Main fuselage section at the accident site (Photo Credit: TSB)
On April 13th the Carson Air Swearingen Merlin III, C-GSKC, operated by Kelowna based Carson Air, crashed after takeoff from the Vancouver International Airport. Operating as Carson Air flight 66, the cargo craft was destined for Prince George, but crashed soon after departure. According to the TSB, approximately 15 nautical miles north of the airport, the aircraft was about 2400 metres above sea level when it lost altitude rapidly. It disappeared off radar and no distress call was initiated by the pilots.
The search area for the plane (Photo Credit: TSB)
“North Shore Rescue ground search crews found aircraft wreckage in steep and heavily wooded terrain southeast of Crown Mountain before nightfall,” said the TSB in a statement. “More wreckage, including the cockpit, and the crew was found the next day. The two pilots sustained fatal injuries. There was a small fire in the area of the right engine nacelle. The emergency locator transmitter activated, but did not transmit (no signal was received).”
Wreckage examination at the accident site (Photo Credit: TSB)
The aircraft dropped from an altitude of 2,400 metres to about 900 metres, the height at which the wreckage was found, in less than 20 seconds. This with the wreckage dispersal and the lack of terrain damage is consistent with an in-flight break-up.
Crews are still at the site of the wreckage collecting data and information. A detailed report will be released once the investigation is complete.
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