2009Q1516
Date: 2009/08/05
Location: Near Mont-Laurier, PQ
Fatalities: 2
Injuries:
CADORS: 2009Q1516
TSB: A09Q0131
TSB O/C: 3
Working: Unknown
News: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Hugh+Haugland+killed+Mont+Laurier+helicopter+crash/1861985/story.html
Hugh Haugland Killed in Mont Laurier Helicopter Crash
By René Bruemmer
The Gazette
August 5, 2009
CTV national cameraman Hugh Haugland filmed an immense wave of water crashing down a valley during the 1996 flooding of the Saguenay region to capture a house being swept off a cliff.
“The wave was coming right at him, and actually cutting pieces of the ground out from under him on the cliff face where he was standing,” said his father, former CTV anchor Bill Haugland, a staple of Montreal evening newscasts for almost 30 years. “And he backed up and kept shooting, and got an award-winning shot. That’s the kind of cameraman he was.”
But as a married man and the father of two young girls, there was a limit to the risks he was willing to take. Long-term assignments in war-torn countries posed too many dangers to a stable family life, he told colleagues, so he did most of his work close to his Montreal home, roaming abroad occasionally to cover top stories like Hurricane Katrina and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Yesterday morning around 9 a.m., Haugland was killed in a helicopter crash in Mont Laurier. He was shooting the aftermath of a tornado that tore through the Laurentian town about 225 kilometres northwest of Montreal on Tuesday.
Roger Bélanger, an experienced pilot in his 60s from Mont Laurier was also killed in the crash. Although Haugland was supposed to fly first, Bélanger ended up taking a TVA cameraman before him. The cameraman told CTV News it took three attempts to start the engine, but there were no troubles while in flight.
Reporter Geneviève Beauchemin stayed behind because there was no room. The cause of the crash is still unknown, but witnesses said the helicopter sounded like it was having mechanical problems before it went down.
Haugland was filming despite the fact he had a broken wrist and rib, which he sustained in a cycling accident two weeks ago. Despite his injuries, he didn’t miss a day of work.
“I got an email at 6:30 in the morning saying Hugh was going to get aerial shots,” said Jed Kahane, who worked with Haugland for eight years as a national reporter and is now news director for CTV in Montreal. “And I know he had a big smile when he was climbing on that helicopter. ...
“He was the best. He was a fast editor, brilliant shooter and he had an even temper, which is really important in this job.
“In an industry where people are often rushed, he always had time for you. … He had a really good heart.”
Haugland worked at CTV for 24 years, but as the son of Bill Haugland, was probably “on the premises since he was a little kid,” Kahane said. “This was his second home.”
Wednesday, his television family struggled to cope with the death of a loved one who was also a top news story.
Her voice cracking with emotion, CTV anchorwoman Mutsumi Takahashi confirmed the death during the noon newscast, two hours after colleagues learned of Haugland’s death.
“A member of our CTV family was killed in a helicopter crash …” Takahashi said at the start of the telecast.
“It’s not an easy day for us here at CTV.” Then she continued with the rest of the news. For the evening report, Kahane said CTV took a “good chunk of time to tell people why we cared so much about him.”
“We’ll still cover the news, but when there’s a death in the family, family comes first.”
The newscast featured a lengthy profile of Haugland, including testimonials from several colleagues with red-rimmed eyes.
Bill Haugland struggled to deal with what he called “his own heartbreak,” while at the same time trying to tell family members across the continent the news before they found it on the Internet, all the while graciously fielding phone calls from numerous journalists.
“I understand the nature of the beast,” Haugland said. “And I think Hugh would have wanted it this way.”
Haugland remembered the eldest of his three sons (he has one daughter who is two years older than Hugh) as a man who was passionate for his work and other interests like cooking and astronomy. He would bring his telescope to his father’s Vermont home on a bi-weekly basis to look at stars and planets from the woods in the middle of the night.
“He was a shining light,” Haugland said. “This will leave a hole in our hearts forever.”
Haugland is survived by his partner, Francine Maillé, and two daughters from a previous marriage, 14-year-old Lianne and Evie, 19.
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
