RICHMOND, B.C. — The Transportation Safety Board highlights the importance of designated landing areas in harbours that are busy with marine and air traffic as it releases a report on a crash between a float plane and a water taxi in Tofino, B.C.
The water taxi and a Tofino Air Beaver float plane carrying six people collided while heading for the same dock in October 2021.
The pilot and passengers were able to safely get out of the aircraft, although three sustained minor injuries, and within minutes it had capsized.
The board says neither the pilot nor the person operating the water taxi realized their routes would conflict until it was too late to take evasive action.
The investigation found factors affecting the perception of both operators contributed to the crash, including that the plane’s lower wing and the pilot’s seat position interfered with the view, and that the taxi operator was focused on the berth, not the plane coming from the starboard side.
The report released Thursday concludes that designated float plane landing areas can help keep aircraft operating zones free of traffic, and plane and vessel operators aren’t aware of each other because they communicate on different radio frequencies.
News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2021
