Plane Crash Not Likely Caused By Weather

Plane Crash Not Likely Caused By Weather

Tuesday, January 09, 2007 at 13:23

Investigators probing a fatal plane crash near Sandy Bay say weather conditions at the time do not appear to have been a factor.

Yesterday, a spokesman for Transwest Air said that while the company wasn’t sure what caused Sunday’s crash, environmental conditions were believed to have played a role.

But Transportation Safety Board spokesman Peter Hildebrandt says the weather conditions were close to ideal for this time of year.

Hildebrandt says the investigation so far indicates the plane didn’t fall short of the runway, but crashed well beyond it without ever touching down.

The wreckage was found about a mile northeast of the airport.

Hildebrandt says investigators are now talking to witnesses on the ground and on the plane.

The pilot was killed, but three others survived the crash. At last word, the survivors were recovering in hospitals in La Ronge and Saskatoon from non-life-threatening injuries.