What: de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver en route from Pitt Meadows to Okanagan Lake
Where: Brenda Mines
When: May 13, 2012, 6:45 p.m
Who: three aboard, three fatalities
Why: The plane had taken off from Pitt Meadows airport and was en route back from Okanagan lake when it went down in a wooded area below Highway 97C about seven kilometers west of the Brenda Mines Road intersection. There was a fire at the scene. Witnesses say the plane was headed toward “Peachland” possibly looking for a landing site toward Merritt when it went down.
According to the NTSB, the accident site is about ten minutes out of Kelowna.
A Cormorant helicopter and a Buffalo airplane, the coroner, B.C. Ambulance, Kelowna Fire Department and Kelowna RCMP responded to the scene. The plane caught fire.
Pilot Colin Moyes, 52, and passengers Peter Keate, 81 and Inez Keate, 79 have been identified as the crash victims. The pilot had his future in-laws in the cabin. His wedding would have been June 23. He leaves behind his 11 year old son. Moyes is also survived by his fiancee and her two children. A memorial is scheduled at 2 p.m., May 27, at North Vancouver’s Pinnacle Hotel.
A helicopter crashed in a secluded area near Blackall, western Queensland, Australia, on July 27th.
According to sources, the man flying the helicopter was seriously injured in the crash. He was taken to hospital.
The crash remains under investigation.
A US Airways jet, performing flight 1851, hit runway lights while trying to land in Charlotte, North Carolina, on August 15.
Authorities said the Airbus A321 was coming from Atlanta, Georgia, when the pilot reported wind shear. The plane then hit the runway lights while trying to land, damaging the underside of its tail.
There were 153 passengers and 6 crew members aboard at the time; all of them remained unharmed.
The U.S. accident investigators have launched an inquiry into the incident.
What: Kenya Police Air Wing Eurocopter AS 350B3e Ecureuil
Where: Ngong Hills, near Nairobi Kenya
When: June 10, 2012 8:30 a.m.
Who: 6 aboard, 6 fatalities
Why: Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security George Saitoti and his permanent secretary Orwa Ojode, pilots Luke Oyugi and Nancy Gituanja and bodyguards Inspector Joshua Tonkei and Sergeant Thomas Murimi, died in a helicopter crash in Ngong Forest in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. The remains were badly burned. There were no survivors.
The helicopter was en route to a church service.
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared three days of official mourning, and said a full investigation into the crash is planned. “On behalf of the Government and the people of Kenya I send my heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and relatives of the six Kenyans.”
