Former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice, shown in this Morinville News file photo, was one of three who died in a plane crash in October of 2016. The crash was recently investigated by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

After an investigation into the Oct. 13, 2016 crash that killed former Alberta premier Jim Prentice, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is recommending the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems by all commercial and private business operators not currently required to carry them.

TSB ‘s report indicates the Cessna Citation 500 privately operated by Norjet Inc. departed Kelowna Airport for Calgary/Springbank Airport with three passengers on board. Shortly after departure, the aircraft departed controlled flight, entering a steep descending turn to the right until it struck the ground. No emergency call was made. All occupants died in the crash and the force of impact and resulting fire destroyed the aircraft.

TSB could not determine the cause of the accident because there was no flight recording systems on board the aircraft. Their best assumption is the pilot experienced spatial disorientation and departed from controlled flight shortly after takeoff.

“We don’t like having to say ‘We don’t know’ when asked what caused an accident and why,” said Kathy Fox, Chair of the TSB in a release. “We want to be able to provide definitive answers—to the victims’ families, to Canada’s aviation industry, to the Canadian public. This is why we are calling today for the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems on commercial and private business aircraft not currently required to carry them.”

In addition to the recommendation of mandatory flight recorders, the Board has raised concern with the way Transport Canada (TC) had conducted oversight of private business aviation in Canada.

The TSB investigation found no record the aircraft operator had ever been inspected by TC, meaning TC was unaware of a “failure to obtain approval for single-pilot operation of the aircraft and the pilot’s lack of recent night flying experience required to carry passengers at night.”

TC has said that it will conduct targeted inspections of private business operators starting this spring.

TSB say they will continue to monitor this safety issue. </s> The lack of flight recorders prevented the TSB from definitively concluding what caused a plane crash that killed former Alberta premier Jim Prentice and three others, but the pilot was probably disoriented, investigators say.

The Transportation Safety Board called on Transport Canada to make flight recording systems mandatory for all commercial and private business operators, as it released its report from an 18-month investigation into the crash.

Read the TSB report

The Cessna Citation jet disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Kelowna, B.C., on its way to the Springbank airport west of Calgary on Oct. 13, 2016.

Killed in the crash with Prentice were the pilot Jim Kruk, a retired RCMP officer; optometrist Ken Gellatly, the father-in-law of one of Prentice's three daughters; and Calgary businessman Sheldon Reid.

Investigators couldn't pinpoint the exact cause of the crash because the plane, which was built in 1974, was not equipped with a cockpit voice recorder or a flight data recorder, the TSB said. Neither is a requirement for that type of aircraft.

An overview shows crash wreckage of the Cessna Citation. (Transportation Safety Board)

"All we have is a hypothesis," TSB chair Kathy Fox said as she released the report in Calgary.

"And that simply isn't good enough."

Pilot likely had 'spatial disorientation'

The safety board says the "most plausible scenario" for the cause of the crash was that Kruk became disoriented due to a heavy workload at the controls.

There were no emergency or distress calls made, according to the TSB.

The investigation revealed that the plane's climb rate changed rapidly several times within 30 seconds just before it went down, lead investigator Beverley Harvey said.

It also deviated to the right by 20 degrees, she said.

TSB chair Kathy Fox says Transport Canada should make flight recording systems mandatory for all commercial and private business operators. (CBC)

"The most plausible scenario is that the pilot, who was likely dealing with a high workload associated with flying the aircraft alone, experienced spatial disorientation and departed from controlled flight shortly after takeoff," the TSB said in a release issued ahead of a news conference in Calgary.

The investigation determined the pilot didn't have enough recent experience flying after dark.

"The pilot, although experienced, had very little recent experience flying at night with just two night takeoffs in the past six months. This did not meet Transport Canada's requirements to carry passengers at night," said Harvey.

"Pilots who do not have sufficient night proficiency are at a greater risk of experiencing what's known as spatial disorientation."

Fox called on Transport Canada to make flight recording systems mandatory.

The board also said it has concerns about the way Transport Canada conducts oversight of private business aviation in the country.

"During the course of its investigation, the TSB found no record that the operator of this aircraft had ever been inspected by TC," the board said in a release.

"As such, TC was unaware of safety deficiencies in its flight operations, such as the failure to obtain approval for single-pilot operation of the aircraft and the pilot's lack of recent night flying experience required to carry passengers at night."

Prentice family thanks TSB

Prentice, 60, was also a former federal cabinet minister.

He became premier of Alberta in September 2014 after winning the leadership of the province's governing Progressive Conservative Party. He quit politics in May 2015 after the NDP swept the PCs from power.

The Prentice family thanked the TSB for its work on the investigation.

"While this report cannot restore what has been lost, it is our hope the learnings from this tragic event can be used to prevent similar accidents in the future," the family said in a written statement.

"We are proud of Jim's contributions to Alberta, to Canada and to public service, but he was first and foremost a loving husband, father, grandfather and sibling; we will always miss him. Our thoughts and prayers are with the other families impacted by this tragedy."

In anticipation of Wednesday's TSB report, Greg McConnell, national chairman of the Canadian Federal Pilots Association, said one change he would like to see is regular Transport Canada inspections for small aircraft such as the business jet Prentice died in. </s> The Transportation Safety Board can’t determine the cause of the 2016 plane crash that killed former Alberta premier Jim Prentice and three passengers because the Cessna Citation 500 did not have a flight recording system.

In its report into the Oct. 13, 2016 plane crash released Thursday, the TSB is recommending the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems by all commercial and private business operators not currently required to carry them.

Investigators say the most likely crash scenario is that the pilot Jim Kruk, who was dealing with a high workload, experienced spatial disorientation and departed from controlled flight shortly after takeoff.

Kruk also did not have the recent night flying experience required by Transport Canada for carrying passengers at night.

The TSB said it’s concerned about a lack of oversight by Transport Canada over private business aviation, finding no record that the federal agency had inspected the operator.

“We don’t like having to say ‘We don’t know’ when asked what caused an accident,” TSB chair Kathy Fox said in a news release.

“We want to be able to provide definitive answers.”

Prentice served as a federal cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015.

Besides Prentice and Kruk, Ken Gellatly and Sheldon Reid died in the 2016 crash. </s> The TSB will announce its findings and the Capital News will follow.

The wreckage of a Cessna Citation which crashed on October 13, 2016, is seen in the woods near Lake Country, B.C., in this October 15, 2016, Transportation Safety Board handout image. The aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff, killing the pilot and all three passengers aboard, including the former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-TSB,

There is no definitive way to know what caused a small plane carrying former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice and three others to crash into a forested area near Kelowna Oct. 13 2016, but investigators have constructed a “plausible scenario” hinged on a condition called spatial disorientation.

In a Transportation Safety Board press conference held Thursday morning, investigators explained they constructed the theory based on radar data, the pilot’s flight history as well as the absence of any evidence indicating mechanical failure.

TSB investigator Beverly Harvey said radar data indicates that the plane took off at a high speed appropriate for take-off, and then the speed dropped back dramatically, only to increase again. The plane deviated from its track by 20 degrees and entered a steep descending turn that ultimately ended in the crash that killed all onboard.

What happened is in line with what would happen if a pilot suffered from spatial disorientation.

“(The pilot gets a) feeling of tumbling backwards or vertigo because of the balance system in the inner ear … it can cause a pilot to push forward on controls and to turn thinking that he’s straightening out the aircraft, which is why it is so insidious,” said Kathy Fox, Chair of the TSB.

The condition can cause pilots to doubt the plane’s instruments, doubt its controls, and to put the plane into accidental spiral dive.

The pilot, said Fox, had only seven to nine hours of night flying in the last six months, which she said is not a lot for piloting a high-performance plane. In fact, it falls below industry standards of completing five take-off and landings at night over six months.

Fox stressed that while they believe their theory has merit, pilot error is not a reason they are willing to offer.

There just isn’t enough evidence to say anything conclusively as there was no flight recorder, no voice recorder, no detailed sequence of what happened in flight deck.

There are two things that she did know, however. First, that the plane was not required to have these recording devices onboard and second, that needs to change.

This accident may act as the impetus for change that could affect hundreds of aviation companies and thousands of planes.

“We don’t like having to say ‘We don’t know’ when asked what caused an accident and why,” said Fox, Chair of the TSB. “We want to be able to provide definitive answers—to the victims’ families, to Canada’s aviation industry, to the Canadian public. This is why we are calling today for the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems on commercial and private business aircraft not currently required to carry them.”

The Board also raised a concern with the way Transport Canada had conducted oversight of private business aviation in Canada.

During the course of its investigation, the TSB found no record that the operator of this aircraft had ever been inspected by TC. As such, TC was unaware of safety deficiencies in its flight operations, such as the failure to obtain approval for single-pilot operation of the aircraft and the pilot’s lack of recent night flying experience required to carry passengers at night.

Since this occurrence, TC has said that it will conduct targeted inspections of private business operators starting in April 2018. Fox said the TSB will continue to monitor this safety issue.

The investigation into the 2016 plane crash that killed four passengers, including former Alberta premier Jim Prentice, has been completed and results will be announced this morning.

The Transportation Safety Board will hold a news conference at 9 a.m. to release its investigation report on the Oct. 13 2016 crash of the Cessna Citation 500 just outside Kelowna, and the Capital News will report on its findings.

At the time of the crash RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said the Cessna Citation private business aircraft was owned by Norjet, a Calgary-based firm, and had departed Kelowna International Airport en route to Springbank, outside of Calgary.

“I know that heavy rain was felt across the Okanagan Valley but difficult to say if that was an issue in this case,” Moskaluk said.

The Transportation Safety Board released a statement at the time also, saying that there were no emergency calls or signals from the high impact crash that scattered debris over a vast space.

RCMP, with the help of a police dog, were able to get to the scene just before midnight, and received assistance from local search and rescue volunteers.

“It’s a complex scene right now and it will take some time for the investigation of the crash site to be completed,” Moskaluk said.

“The terrain is hilly and densely forested, but we were able to access the site from a nearby forest service road.”

The site of the crash was northeast of Winfield, about four kms north of Beaver Lake Road and about 18 kms north of Kelowna.

Kelowna RCMP and Lake Country RCMP detachments were alerted by the Surrey Air Traffic Control Centre that they had lost contact with a Citation jet shortly after its takeoff from Kelowna airport.

Also onboard that night were Sheldon Reid, a shareholder in Norjet, the owner of the Cessna Citation aircraft that crashed, and Jim Kruk, associated with the 83 ‘Lynx’ air cadet squadron based out of Airdrie, a rural community north of Calgary, and Calgary optometrist Kenneth Gellatly, whose son was married to Prentice’s daughter.

The men were flying home to Calgary from a late-season golf game in Kelowna when the crash occurred.

@KelownaNewsKat

kmichaels@kelownacapnews.com

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> CALGARY — The Transportation Safety Board says the pilot of a plane that crashed, killing former Alberta premier Jim Prentice, was probably disoriented.

The Cessna Citation jet went down shortly after takeoff from Kelowna, B.C., on its way to the Springbank airport west of Calgary in October 2016.

The plane took off about 9:30 p.m. and shortly after took a steep descending right turn and hit the ground from 2,580 metres above sea level.

The TSB says there were no flight recorders on board the aircraft, so investigators could not definitively determine the cause of the crash.

But the safety board says the “most plausible scenario” is that pilot Jim Kruk became spatially disoriented due to a heavy workload at the controls.

Kruk, a retired RCMP officer, optometrist Ken Gellatly, the father-in-law of one of Prentice’s three daughters and Calgary businessman Sheldon Reid all died with Prentice.

“The most plausible scenario is that the pilot, who was likely dealing with a high workload associated with flying the aircraft alone, experienced spatial disorientation and departed from controlled flight shortly after takeoff,” the TSB said in a release issued ahead of a news conference in Calgary.

The investigation also determined that the pilot did not have enough recent experience flying after dark.

“The pilot, although experienced, had very little recent experience flying at night with just two night takeoffs in the past six months. This did not meet Transport Canada’s requirements to carry passengers at night,” said Beverley Harvey, senior investigator at the TSB.

“Pilots who do not have sufficient night proficiency are at a greater risk of experiencing what’s known as spatial disorientation.”

Prentice was Alberta’s premier from October 2014 until his election loss the following spring when the Progressive Conservatives were kicked out by the NDP after more than 40 years in power.

Harvey said the “physical illusions” that accompany disorientation while flying can occur during prolonged acceleration such as during an initial climb after takeoff.

“Even though they are erroneous, these sensations can be intense causing pilots to doubt their instruments, to incorrectly adjust controls or even put the aircraft into an accidental spiral dive.”

The lack of concrete proof as to what happened was extremely frustrating for investigators, she said.

Kathy Fox, the safety board’s chairwoman, said the plane involved in the crash was not required to have a flight data recorder. The Transportation Safety Board is recommending such recorders, as well as cockpit recorders, be required on all commercial and private business aircraft.

“We don’t like having to say we don’t know when asked what caused an accident or why,” Fox said. “We want to provide definitive answers to the victims’ families, to Canada’s aviation industry and to the Canadian public.” </s> A coroner says two people died after two planes collided at a northeastern Indiana airport.

Grant County Coroner Chris Butche has identified the victims as the pilot, 31-year-old Kyle Hibst, and passenger, 31-year-old David Wittkamper, both of Elwood. They were members of the Pipe Creek Township Volunteer Fire Department.

Butche tells WTHR-TV a Cessna 150 carrying Hibst and Wittkamper took off from Marion Municipal Airport on Monday and clipped a larger Cessna 525 Citation Jet that was landing. He says the smaller plane crashed and caught fire.

READ MORE: 1 dead, 1 injured after planes collide over Montreal south shore shopping mall

Butche says the five people on the larger plane weren’t injured.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration says it will investigate the incident. The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified, and will be in charge of the investigation. </s> A supervisor at Sochi International Airport has died after a landing plane careered off the end of the runway into a riverbed and caught fire.

The health ministry says 18 people were injured in the accident, which occurred at about 3am local time as the Utair-operated Boeing 737 from Moscow, carrying 164 passengers and six crew members, was landing.

Transportation minister Yevgeny Ditrikh said airport shift supervisor Vladimir Begiyan, who was one of the first responders to the accident, died of a heart attack at the scene.

The cause of the crash has not been determined, but State news agency RIA, citing local emergency services, said the accident happened after the plane failed to brake in time after landing. </s> The pilot of an aircraft which crashed and killed 11 people has been charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Andrew Hill, 53, was at the controls of the vintage 1955 Hawker Hunter jet when he lost control during a manoeuvre over the A27 on August 22, 2015 during Shoreham Airshow.

The CPS tonight announced at a meeting alongside police and the families of victims that Mr Hill was being charged with 11 counts of manslaughter by negligence and a further charge of endangering an aircraft, contrary to Article 137 of the Air Navigation Order 2009.

The aircraft crashed on the road killing 11 and injuring 13 people. Mr Hill was critically injured in the dramatic crash.

The reviewing lawyer, Simon Ringrose from the CPS Special Crime Division said: "Sussex Police conducted a thorough and detailed investigation into the incident and in November 2017 submitted a full file of evidence to the CPS in relation to the actions of the pilot, Andrew Hill. </s> A nightmare came true for one family in Florida when a plane fell from the sky and crashed through the roof of a home.

The pilot of the flight was killed, but a trainee pilot and eight people inside the home all walked away with minor injuries.

“It was the day of miracles,” said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd during a press conference, referring to the fact that everyone inside the house survived.

The twin-engine aircraft fell into the house in Winter Haven, Florida, at around 1 p.m. while its pilot, James Wagner, 64, and his trainee, Timothy Sheehy, were practicing simulated engine failure training, Judd said.

The accident happened a short time after takeoff. Wagner died in the crash.

It’s unclear if the pair were actually simulating an engine failure at the time of the crash as well as who was piloting the aircraft, Judd said, adding that, regardless, the aircraft lost power and fell.

< PREVIOUS SLIDE SLIDE 1 of 3 NEXT SLIDE > A small aircraft with two people onboard crashed into a home in Winter Haven, Fla, Feb. 23, 2019. © WFTS

The plane crashed into the bedroom of 17-year-old Carmele Ngalamulume, pinning and trapping her against a wall until her brother, who was in the next bedroom, could run in and save her. There were three other children playing in the driveway of the house, according to Judd. Their mother was taking a shower when the plane dropped from the sky.

Authorities arrived on the scene within five minutes of receiving the call about the crash. Firefighters, the first on the scene, arrived to find Sheehy wandering around the area after walking out of the crash, Judd said.

Ngalamulume and Sheehy, 33, both suffered minor injuries.

“As tragic as it was for Mr. Wagner, it could have been much worse,” said Judd.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating and determining a probable cause for the incident, according to an FAA spokesman.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch determines that a pilot error was the cause of the crash.