Seair DHC-2 Beaver down in the Georgia Strait BC

[robbreid]

Sad news this afternoon, a DHC-2 Beaver departing Lyall Harbour crashed on take-off en route to Vancouver - search is on going, reports vary, but 1 pilot and 5 or 6 passengers, including an infant.

2 persons reportedly rescued, crash occurred shortly after 4pm local.

Seair operate 3 MK I Beavers, 2 MK III Beavers, 4 Cessna 208's and a Cessna 185.

Seair Seaplanes - Home (http://www.seairseaplanes.com/)

[robbreid]

Canwest Vancouver reports;

Sadly the wreckage was located in 11 metres of water, around 1AM by Coast Guard divers - with 6 bodies inside. The Beaver was difficult to locate in zero visibility and strong ocean currents.

The male pilot - said to be 'in a lot of pain', and a female passenger were rescued and transported to local hospital. A local man reached the crash site within 3 minutes, locating the two survivors, and reported the aircraft had already sank.

[er340790]

Extremely fortunate that someone was able to get to the scene so quickly. :D Without help, the November water temp would have rendered the 2 survivors unconscious within minutes. RIP.

CBC:

A rescue official said Monday that the bodies of six people have been recovered from the wreckage of a seaplane that crashed in British Columbia's Gulf Islands.

The remains of five adults and an infant were found in the plane, which was submerged in 13 metres of water in Lyall Harbour off Saturna Island, said Troy Haddock, maritime co-ordinator for the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria.

The plane went down at 4:10 p.m. PT Sunday. The cause of the crash was not clear.

A female passenger and the pilot were rescued shortly after the crash. They were airlifted to hospital in Victoria.

The seaplane crashed in Saturna Island's Lyall Harbour, off the southeast coast of Vancouver Island, on Sunday afternoon. (CBC)Haddock said divers searched for eight hours before they found the wreckage of the seaplane.

"The reports that we have are the doors were open, there was some twisted wreckage, but that’s all the details we have now," said Haddock.

"The Transportation Safety Board will be most likely raising the aircraft and investigating further for damage and cause of the accident," he told CBC News.

[gravity enemy]

Without help, the November water temp would have rendered the 2 survivors unconscious within minutes.

Apparently the man in the boat was unable to lift them onto his boat, so he tied them to it until rescue boats arrived. What is the temperature of the water around there this time of the year?

R.I.P.

[grizzled]

The sea surface temperature in that area would be around 5 C.

[pigboat]

Anybody know what the wind and sea state was at the time? The news reported a witness saying this was the third attempt at a takeoff. Must have been pretty rough.

[Hamtarro]

To the Captain, with no disrespect intended to all those involved.
One month ago I jumped a ride home on one of your Caravans .
I can`t imagine how you feel at this time. I do know that having been a float driver in the past, the demands of the profession far outway the renumeration. You are real pilots! It is for the love of the job you guys in the likes of your company keep going.
To those of us who forgot how to use our hands and feet in this hyrdraulic assisted world, there margins at times can be unforgiving. A difference between a bar story and one that ends in print of a grim outcome is measured in variables of unmeasurable impact. You and the machine.
I hope you take care Man.
All of our group overseas are thinking of you.

[grizzled]

Hamtarro -- well said indeed.
Amen