The president of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council has filed a civil claim against Atleo Air Service seeking damages after one of its planes flipped in Tofino Harbour two years ago, plunging her upside down into the water.
Judith Sayers, who was a passenger in the Cessna A185F floatplane, said her head was submerged as she was trapped inside the plane, running out of air.
Her glasses were knocked off and broken and she lost a hearing aid, court documents say.
Sayers’ son, who was also a passenger in the aircraft, unfastened his lap belt and then unfastened this mother’s belt. She then fell forward against the aircraft’s interior, the claim says.
Her son lifted his mother’s head out of the water, and Sayers escaped through a window of the plane with assistance, the claim says.
It happened shortly after 11:30 a.m. on July 26, 2021, when the plane lost control at takeoff and ended up crashing upside down in shallow water, the document says.
Sayers is suing the airline, the pilot and another company employee, and seeking damages for injuries.
The claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Atleo Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Defendants have 21 days to respond to the court after being served with a notice of civil claim in Canada.
The claim says that as result of the plane crash and negligence, Sayers received serious injuries, including to her neck, back, right arm, ribs, abdomen, right leg and right foot. She also suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, headaches and loss of sleep, court documents say.
Sayers is seeking special and general damages, damages for diminished housekeeping capacity and for future care, and other relief as determined by the court.
Sayers continues to receive medical care and treatment, the claim says.
A Transportation Safety Board investigation determined in October that the wake from a boat was partly responsible for the incident.
It said that the shallow water on the sandbar where the plane came to a stop gave passengers time to escape, helping to save their lives.
The flight had been delayed because of boat traffic on its planned path. When the path cleared, a boat’s wake slowed the plane’s takeoff run, leading the pilot to try to gain distance by turning right on the water, the board’s report said.
The plane lifted off at a low airspeed, possibly because of wake from a second boat or because of how the controls were operated, it said.
“As the aircraft became airborne at low airspeed and in a right turn, the left wing stalled aerodynamically at too low an altitude for control to be regained before the wing contacted water.”
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