Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Mandatory life-jackets urged after deadly float-plane crashes

 

Mandatory use of life-jackets by float-plane passengers could save lives in a crash, but it won't be an easy policy to implement, say industry experts. 

 A B.C. Coroners Service review of four commercial floatplane crashes recommends that Transport Canada makes it mandatory for passengers to wear life-jackets during flights.

But the devices come with their own safety risks, say floatplane operators, who have concerns that their untimely inflation could trap passengers inside planes.

"They're in the aircrafts right now, they just have to be approved as to which - is the best and safest use," said Randy Wright, Harbour Air's senior vice-president.

Harbour Air and other companies are working with Transport Canada to come up with the best way to outfit passengers with life-jackets during flights.

The Coroners Service death review panel - which was created last year to look at the circumstances surrounding four commercial seaplane crashes that killed 23 people between 2005 and 2009 - also noted that flotation devices approved by Transport Canada may not be able to withstand extended and frequent use in commercial operations.

The Coroners Service report, which includes 19 recommendations, also calls for the installation of easy-to-use emergency exits to prevent drowning after crashing and a review of stall warning systems.

"These recommendations should be considered very seriously by the agencies to which they're directed," said chief coroner Lisa Lapointe. "They are the result of open and frank discussion and review by a diverse blue-ribbon panel of experts in the field provincewide."

Several of the recommendations mirror those outlined in a Transportation Safety Board of Canada report that investigated a Seair Seaplanes crash in November 2009 that killed six people. In that incident, a de Havilland Beaver plane stalled during takeoff in Lyall Harbour off Saturna Island. The pilot and one of the seven passengers survived the crash.

Float-plane companies are already making some of the recommended changes outlined in the reports. Harbour Air officials say they have installed pop-out windows and easy-open door latches.

No one at Transport Canada was available to address the recommendations on Tuesday, but the office's communications staff issued a statement saying the department anticipates a response to the Coroners report by the fall.

Transport Canada "is committed to investigating safety improvements, such as the operation of emergency exits, push-out windows, wearing of life vests by passengers and emergency evacuation from submerged aircraft training for commercial crews," staff wrote in an email.


Source: http://www.timescolonist.com

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