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Two Vancouver families are urging the federal government to change the safety provisions for private planes after their children were killed in an accident near Peachland.
Lauren just two days before the tragic accident (Photo Credit: Dallas Smith/Facebook)
On August 13th, 2012 both Lauren Sewell and Dallas Smith were killed when the small plane they were in crashed near Brenda Mine just west of Peachland. Lauren’s father Greg and his wife Fran have been advocating for regulatory reform since the 24-year-old’s death exactly three years ago. Lauren was returning to Vancouver from Penticton after a trip with her boyfriend Dallas when the plane went down. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) issued its report on the crash in November 2013, but the families of the victims say it wasn’t simply pilot error which caused the crash.
“It is our firm belief that this tragic accident was both preventable and survivable,” said Greg. “It is very clear from the TSB Report that a number of factors contributed to this accident, many of which stemmed from the pilot’s inexperience or failure to follow standard aviation practices and regulations.”
Dallas was an aspiring private pilot (Photo Credit: Dallas Smith/Facebook)
As a result of reports from the TSB and the BC Coroners Service, the Sewell family along with the Smith family are calling for an amendment in Canadian Aviation Regulation to require shoulder harnesses on small aircrafts. They are also asking the federal Transport Ministry and Transport Canada to design a standardized mountain flying curriculum and to develop a graduated licensing program for aspiring private and commercial pilots.
The families believe their children might have survived the tragic accident that occurred on what was supposed to be a quick 20 minute flight from Penticton to suburban Vancouver. Both Lauren and Dallas sustained fatal head injuries, while the pilot and another passenger survived.
Lauren Sewell in an undated photo (Photo Credit: Facebook)
To coincide with the anniversary of the accident, the family has launched a website with further information about their advocacy plan as well as a petition for others to sign.
“We believe that the safety of pilots and passengers currently flying in small aircraft in Canada is seriously jeopardized by existing aviation regulations established by Transport Canada,” reads the website’s mission statement. “We are committed to lobby this federal regulatory agency and the Ministry of Transport to safeguard the flying public through enacting legislative reform, in order that they are protected to the maximum possible extent.”
To read more about the current aviation regulations and the changes the families hope to see, please visit www.smallaircraftsafetyreform.com/.
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