Float Plane Crash Investigation
Transportation Safety Board investigators were meeting with witnesses Sunday to try and determine what caused a float plane to crash in northern Quebec killing two people on board.
The DHC-2 Beaver float plane crashed around 11 a.m. Saturday in a swamp two kilometres from the La Grande Riviere airport, not far from James Bay.
The pilot and one passenger died and all three surviving passengers were flown to a hospital in Montreal, two of them with serious injuries.
Quebec provincial police and TSB investigators were on the scene Sunday, examining whether pilot error or a mechanical problem caused the plane to crash shortly after takeoff. They were also planning to pull the wreckage out of the water.
The pilot worked for Nordair, a commercial and corporate airline that operates in the James Bay and Hudson Bay area.
Quebec provincial police spokesman Richard Gagne said at least two of the passengers were from Ontario.
Investigators determined Sunday the float plane had taken longer than usual to take off, before crashing soon after taking flight, said Transportation Safety Board spokesman John Cottreau.
The weather in the region was clear at the time of the crash.
