News
Canadian survey aircraft crashes in Andes: two dead
May 6, 2014, Regina - One of two Canadians identified as the victims of a plane crash in northeastern Colombia was described Monday as a smart guy with a passion for the outdoors.
May 6, 2014 By The Associated Press
The civil aviation authority in Columbia says the registry of a plane
that crashed high in the Andes on Saturday matches one belonging to
Regina-based Oracle Geoscience International, which does aerial surveys
for mining companies. Two people aboard, both Canadians, were killed.
The authority identified the dead as Peter Moore, a
co-founder of the company, and Neville Ribeiro, who was registered as
the plane's pilot.
Jack Richardson, who says he knew Moore for about 25 years, was shocked to hear about the crash.
"His geophysics, doing the
flying, analyzing the anomalies — he knew that stuff very well. We
talked about it a lot," Richardson said in a phone interview from Blind
River, Ont.
"Peter is a good guy. He is very focused on his work, very focused on enjoying life."
Richardson says Moore ran an outfitting service
for many years on the Great Lakes. Moore used to take charters out
salmon fishing and worked very hard at it, said Richardson.
"He loved fishing. He was an excellent fisherman," said Richardson.
"And he built his own place on Lake Huron. You know he's that kind of guy — very resourceful, very independent."
According to Oracle Geoscience's website, Moore
graduated from the Haileybury School of Mines in Haileybury, Ont.
The
site says Moore started his survey career as an airborne operator for
Dighem Surveys in 1987 and that he worked in more than 15 countries over
the last 20 years.
"Most of his work was (in) northern Canada. He
did all the diamond mine exploration when that was hot," said
Richardson, who last spoke with his friend at the end of January when
Moore arrived in South America.
"He'd go wherever the work took him."
Rescue workers struggled over the
weekend to reach the twin-engine Piper PA-31 Navajo because of poor
visibility at the remote site.
Col. Carlos Silva, director of the Colombian air
force command and control centre, said the plane was seen from the air
upside down on the ground.
It was not clear what led to the accident.
