2009P0914
Date: 2009/07/10
Location: Vancouver International, BC
Fatalities: 2
Injuries:
CADORS: 2009P0914
TSB: A09P0187
TSB O/C: 3
Working: Yes
News: http://www2.canada.com/richmondnews/news/story.html?id=3d64cf49-180b-4fc9-b6c5-2567f776bab9
Richmond plane crash pilots identified
Alan Campbell and Tracy Sherlock
Richmond News
Monday, July 13, 2009
The two pilots involved in last week's fatal plane crash in north Richmond have been identified.
Mathew Douglas Pedersen, 23, of Port Coquitlam, and Jeremy Ryan Sunderland, 28, who grew up in Tsawwassen, were on board the ill-fated twin-prop Piper Navajo when it nose-dived into an industrial parking lot near the Bridgeport and No 5 roads intersection last Thursday night.
"On the evening of July 9, a terrible tragedy occurred when a Piper Navajo aircraft crashed short of the runway at Vancouver International Airport, claiming the lives of the two pilots," said Darcy Coonfer, chief pilot of Canadian Air Charters, the firm that chartered the plane.
"Thankfully, no one else was injured as a result of the accident. At the wishes of the victims' families, (we) are releasing their identity to the public.
"Canadian Air Charters continues to cooperate with the authorities on the investigation and is undertaking our own internal investigation to try and help determine the cause of the accident." Coonfer added that, although not required, Canadian Air Charters had, as a precaution, temporarily grounded its fleet of Navajo aircraft until July 11 to ensure that this accident was not a systemic issue with the airplane itself.
Many eyewitness reports suggest the YVR-bound eight-seater plane, which was transporting 143 units of donated blood from Victoria, was in trouble - and perhaps on fire - before it crashed. There are also suggestions that the small plane may have flown through the jetwash (air turbulence trailing in an aircraft's wake) of a large passenger jet moments before it plunged to the ground near the Ikea shopping centre.
Other witnesses spoke of hearing a large "boom and then a flash of light," before the plane crashed a few hundred yards from a busy intersection. Yet others say they saw it swerving violently before plummeting nose first into the ground. North Richmond resident Marlena Fairbourne said she was in her greenhouse - which is directly under the YVR flightpath - when the crash happened.
"I did not see it but was very conscious of the sound of it as it approached and flew pretty much over the greenhouse," Fairborne told the News.
"I know the sounds of aircraft pretty good and it really sounded to me that the aircraft may have lost an engine. Either way, it was definitely struggling for fuel. I know that sound.
"It didn't seem to be able to get any power to maintain or increase lift. (Some of the reports) don't make any sense compared to what I experienced." The Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating all possible causes. RCMP received several reports that the plane was in trouble as it made its final approach into YVR around 10 p.m. Thursday, said Cpl. Peter Thiessen, speaking on behalf of the Richmond RCMP.
"Witnesses [gave] us information that there was some kind of difficulty with the aircraft - some level of fire prior to impact," Thiessen said. Officials at YVR said they had not received any distress calls and were not aware of any problems until the plane crashed.
Canadian Blood Services said it had chartered the cargo plane from Richmond-based Canadian Air Charters for regular flights carrying bags of blood by individual donors on Vancouver Island to Vancouver for processing and testing.
The morning after the crash, all that could be seen behind police tape was the charred wreckage of the plane and scorch marks on a building at the back of the parking lot where it landed. Bizarrely, a row of cars parked behind Premier Transmissions - the business at 12520 Vickers Way where the crash happened - appeared untouched by the explosion.
Mahmood Awan, owner of Premier Transmissions, wasn't allowed into his business premises until after crash investigators cleared the site Sunday.
"They took the rest of the wreckage away (Sunday)," Awan said.
"You can see where it landed and the wreck of the bus it landed on is still there." Awan said his daughter took a call from his alarm company moments after the crash. By the time he got to the scene at 10:30 p.m., Awan said the flames and smoke were towering above his building.
"It was totally shocking to see," Awan said.
"I was told by police that my building was safe. It's terrible. Besides the damage, two pilots, who I'm told were quite young, have lost their lives.
"I feel for their families, I really do." Awan said he had about seven customers' cars parked at the side of his building and more out the back where the plane crashed.
Two of his customer's vehicles were damaged in the crash, as were 275 transmissions.
