Suit Filed Two Years Following Accident Which Resulted In The Fatal Injury Of Two Pilots

Beechcraft, Pratt & Whitney, and Raisbeck Engineering have been named in a lawsuit stemming from an accident two years ago involving a King Air 100 which went down on approach to Vancouver International Airport. The pilot and co-pilot of the aircraft were fatally injured in the accident. Passengers on board the airplane survived the accident.

The suit was filed by WorkSafeBC, an organization which according to its website is "dedicated to promoting workplace health and safety for the workers and employers of this province (British Columbia)." The Vancouver Sun reports that the suit was filed in the B.C. Supreme Court. The suit seeks damages for both pilot's families.

The Canadian Federal Government is also named in the suit, with the organization alleging that "Transport Canada was negligent in failing to force companies to deal with potential oil leaks from loose oil caps on the plane's engines."

The suit claims that both pilots aboard the airplane could have survived the accident, but a post-impact fire consumed the airplane. The Canadian Transportation Safety Board said in its report that the fire was traced to the electrical system in the airplane, and that it had previously recommended special switches for GA airplanes to cut electrical power to reduce the sources of ignition in the event of an accident. WorkSafeBC says that the government has not acted on that assertion.

Raisbeck was named because WorkSafeBC says modifications done by the company increased the drag created by an engine operating at reduced power, increasing the minimum speed required in such scenarios.

None of the allegations has been proven in court, according to the paper.

FMI: www.courts.gov.bc.ca/supreme_court