But It's Still Too Soon To Know For Certain

Investigators in Saskatchewan are working to determine what role the weather may have played in the downing of a medevac King Air 100 Sunday about 1,000 feet shy of the runway in Sandy Bay, killing the pilot and injuring three others onboard.

Officials with Prince Albert-based on-demand airline Transwest Air say the plane departed La Ronge to pick up a patient in Sandy Bay. The 52-year-old pilot died at the scene; the 24-year-old copilot and two EMTs were taken to a Saskatoon hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Transwest spokesperson Ken Landers said the three suffered broken bones.

Officials aren't certain what brought the plane down, although many are pointing to the weather as a possible factor in the crash. Although Sandy Bay doesn't have a weather reporting station, witnesses say visibility may have been poor as the plane came in to land.

"At this time, it appears, and I want to underline the word appears, that weather may have been a contributing factor," Landers told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. "That's the only thing we can think of at this point in time, but that's more or less speculation."

Those witness reports don't necessarily match conditions reported in the area by Environment Canada, however. The weather agency says the temperature was five degrees Fahrenheit in Sandy Bay at the time of the crash, with a calm wind from the southeast. It is not known if any precipitation was falling.

Saskatchewan Highways and Transportation regional airport coordinator Peter Heal said the runway at Sandy Bay had been plowed, and the runway lights were operating.

FMI: www.transwestair.com, www.highways.gov.sk.ca/