Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board have ruled out bad weather and mechanical failure as factors in Thursday’s plane crash at the Duncan airport, but are still trying to determine whether human error was at play.
Two experienced pilots from the Victoria Flying Club were on a training flight Thursday when their Cessna 172 collided with trees and high-voltage power lines and before crashing in a farmer’s field.
The flight instructor, who was trapped in the aircraft for at least one hour and 40 minutes, was airlifted to Victoria General Hospital, where she remains in serious condition. The student pilot was taken to hospital by ambulance. He has been released.
Two TSB investigators spent Friday examining the wreckage and determined the engine was working and there was no mechanical malfunction. The plane was removed Friday afternoon and transported to Victoria.
Bill Yearwood of the TSB said the investigation will focus on the operation and the challenges of the Duncan aerodrome, which is is known to be difficult and is used for advanced training.
The pilots were attempting a “touch-and-go” landing on the 450-metre runway. The manoeuvre involves landing and taking off again without coming to a full stop.
“Our investigation will try to determine what went wrong in the landing and departure procedure,” Yearwood said.
He said RCMP have interviewed the student and his information will be shared with TSB investigators.
Ramona Reynolds, president of the Victoria Flying Club, said the instructor was “very experienced” with flying in and out of the Duncan airport.
The pilots, who both live in the Victoria area, are “doing really well, as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” she said. She has spoken with both pilots’ family and said they asked for privacy.
Reynolds commended the student, who was able to walk away from the crash, for staying calm in an emergency.
“He held it together and did all the right things. He really looked after his co-pilot in the airplane. He kept a really cool head,” she said, noting there were live power lines in the area.
There was a crash at Duncan airport in July 2015, when a 55-year-old pilot and a 43-year-old passenger were seriously injured when the two-seater Cessna plane they were flying in crashed upon landing.
“It has been demonstrated to be a challenging aerodrome,” Yearwood said.
