The general manager of a B.C. airline whose small plane crashed near Vancouver's airport says the accident's only saving grace was the bustling urban street where it came down.
Bill Hesse of Prince George-based Northern Thunderbird Air said the location allowed a quick response to Thursday's crash.
All nine people aboard were pulled alive from the fiery wreckage as Good Samaritans leaped from their cars to help in the midst of rush hour.
Firefighters were also able to quickly get to the scene because a fire station was nearby.
The pilot, 44-year-old Luc Fortin, was gravely injured and died in hospital five hours later with family by his side.
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'We were extremely fortunate'
"We're so thankful for the bystanders that rushed into this burning aircraft and helped evacuate people out of there, some with grave injuries," Hesse said.
"If it wasn't for those folks and the fact there was a fire hall half a block away — my goodness, I shudder to think ... In this case we were extremely fortunate."
Vancouver Coastal Health says two people remain in critical condition, including one person who had spinal surgery on Friday, while four people were in stable but serious condition. Two were discharged.
Hesse called Fortin, who is survived by a wife and daughter in North Vancouver, an easy-going guy who was very professional. The veteran had logged about 14,000 hours in the cockpit and joined the company in 2007.
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'Knowledgeable pilot'
"Prior to coming to us, he flew essentially throughout the world — both poles, the Indian Ocean, ferrying aircraft across Africa," he said. "He was a very experienced, knowledgeable pilot."
Which is why the failed landing, which also clipped a car and lamppost as it came down and injured two people less seriously, is such a mystery right now, Hesse said.
"With the amount of data — radar coverage and voice recordings between air traffic control and the pilot, the cockpit voice recorder and the shear number of eye witnesses — I think it really bodes well for us getting a decent answer on this tragedy."
Investigators are now trying to determine what caused a caution light to flicker on midway through the flight, convincing Fortin to turn the Kelowna-bound plane back to Vancouver.
The Transportation Safety Board has said the plane went down after getting clearance to return for landing. It had departed at 3:40 p.m. PT.
In a recording of air-traffic control communications, Fortin sounds calm as the plane swings around and charts its reverse course. He tells a controller he doesn't need any emergency equipment or help.
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Flight chartered by single group
The Beechcraft King Air 100 was built in the 1970s, which is not an unusual vintage, Hesse said. It got regular maintenance.
The flight was an ad-hoc charter booked by a single group of people, he said. He wouldn't reveal any information about their identities or the purpose of the flight, other than to say they were new clients.
He said the co-pilot, 26-year-old Matt Robic, suffered burns to his body but had stabilized in hospital.
Hesse is based at the company's Prince George headquarters, while Fortin worked from its Vancouver office.
He said the company has a 40-year history but has been owned by the current group since 1999.
He said the only other major mishap he recalls occurred in 2005. Two pilots died in a crash near Squamish, north of Vancouver. A report by the Transportation Safety Board characterized the cause as inconclusive.
B.C. Solicitor General Shirley Bond also attributed Fortin's manoeuvres to lessening the extent of the potential catastrophe. She called the passersby who rushed in to lend frantic help heroes.
"By all accounts, your actions helped to lessen injuries and may well have saved lives," she said in a statement.
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