The families of three men who died in a plane crash in northern Saskatchewan are suing the charter airline that operated the flight.
The Lawrence Bay Airways float plane crashed into Buss Lake on June 30, 2011, killing the pilot and all four passengers. A Transportation Safety Board investigation into the crash concluded the airplane stalled while flying at too low an altitude to recover.
The families of three passengers filed statements of claim last month in Saskatoon Court of Queen's Bench seeking damages under the Fatal Accidents Act, which allows dependents to claim losses.
Allegations in a statement of claim have not been proven in court.
Wade Cooper, 44, Cam Cooper, 40, and Daniel Mantyka, 21, each left wives and children behind when they died in the crash. The lawsuits claim damages for the costs of their funerals, income losses and grief, as set out in the Fatal Accidents Act.
The fourth passenger on the plane was Max Clunie, 15. They were all returning from a northern Saskatchewan fishing camp when the plane, a Havilland DHC-2 Beaver Aircraft, crashed into the lake.
The statements of claim allege the men's deaths were caused by the negligence of Lawrence Bay Airways. They claim the company failed to maintain the airplane and failed to equip it with a stall warning device. The documents also say the men's deaths were caused by the negligent actions of the pilot, Andre Gagnon, and that Lawrence Bay Airways is liable.
They allege the pilot "intentionally operated the Beaver Aircraft at low altitude," knowing it was hazardous and in such a fashion that "it stalled at an altitude which was insufficient to recover from the stall."
Source: http://www.thestarphoenix.com
Aviation Investigation Report A11C0100: http://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2011/a11c0100/a11c0100.asp
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigated this occurrence for the purpose of advancing transportation safety. It is not the function of the Board to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
Collision with Terrain
Lawrence Bay Airways Ltd.
De Havilland DHC–2, C–GUJX
Buss Lakes, Saskatchewan, 2 nm SE
30 June 2011
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