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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:31 am
 


Open Letter to All Canadians

On the 28th of February, 2005, pilot Arnie Feast and his passengers Dave Stevens, Fabian Bedard, Doug and Trevor Decock died following a survivable floatplane accident. All five men were working, or on their way to work and yet no investigation has ever been done into the Occupational Health and Safety hazards which contributed to these five deaths. There has been no coroner’s inquest. There has been no investigation for cause. An RCMP investigation remains open.

On March 2nd, two days before four Alberta RCMP officers were killed in the line of duty, the body of Dave Stevens was recovered barely five miles from the aircraft base. But it was not until the 28th of July, 2005 that the fuselage (without power section) was recovered at the physical, emotional and financial expense of the families of Arnie, Dave, Fabian, Doug and Trevor. The four missing men were not on board. All seatbelts were unbuckled, although life jackets were all still stowed.

Although there was considerable evidence of engine failure on the retrieved wreckage and amongst the witness reports, which led to the ability to locate the aircraft, the Transportation Safety Board did not take possession of the wreckage, or do more than a cursory examination. They concluded their investigation with a letter to the coroner in September 2005, which left the implication that the accident had been the result of weather and pilot error.

Dissatisfied, the families produced their own report, and insisted the TSB take responsibility for recovering the engine and determining the cause of the accident. Instead they offered $10,000 in May 2006, should the families be successful in their privately financed efforts. This has led to understandably considerable delays.

With more pressure from the families, the TSB sent a new investigator to inspect the wreckage in November 2006. By this time considerable corrosion had set in, and, as expected, the results were inconclusive.

As the families continued their research, they discovered that due to jurisdictional access, Worksafe BC was not authorized to take part in the investigation. Rather, under a joint agreement with the Minister of Labour, Transport Canada Civil Aviation is expected to appoint a Minister’s Observer. Yet no Minister’s Observer was assigned to this case. Instead of immediately investigating the company operating the aircraft, Transport Canada began an Enforcement Action for “Unknown” infractions against the missing pilot. It was not until December 2006 that they sent their own inspectors to examine the wreckage. This resulted in an Enforcement Action being initiated against the Approved Maintenance Organization.

After a very expensive recovery effort failed in March 2007, the families began to appeal to, amongst others, the Federal Ministers of Transportation, Labour, Public Safety and Justice. In late May, a petition was begun addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and demanding a Public Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding this accident. Having been officially endorsed by the United Steelworkers and the BC Federation of Labour, the petition is being signed on-line and on paper editions across the country.

On September 11, 2007, the families were finally successful in recovering the power section of the aircraft, and duly turned it over to the TSB for examination on September 13th.

Although some assurances have been received, the families no longer trust the officials to “do the right thing”. We have written letters to the Director General of Transport Canada Civl Aviation, Merlin Preuss, and the Director of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Terry Burtch, outlining our expectations. (Available on website)

With this open letter to All Canadians, we appeal to you to help protect the safety of workers and other members of the travelling public by Printing this letter in your newspapers, copying and sending it to all your MPs, MLAs, and all the contacts in your email address book. Demand a public inquiry into this accident.

Please help protect the future safety of your loved ones. Let us learn from this accident, before another unnecessary death takes place.

Visit questforjustice.ca for more information, to download a paper copy, or to link to the on-line petition.


Kirsten Stevens, Campbell River BC


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:43 am
 


dhc2widow dhc2widow:
Open Letter to All Canadians

On the 28th of February, 2005, pilot Arnie Feast and his passengers Dave Stevens, Fabian Bedard, Doug and Trevor Decock died following a survivable floatplane accident. All five men were working, or on their way to work and yet no investigation has ever been done into the Occupational Health and Safety hazards which contributed to these five deaths. There has been no coroner’s inquest. There has been no investigation for cause. An RCMP investigation remains open.

On March 2nd, two days before four Alberta RCMP officers were killed in the line of duty, the body of Dave Stevens was recovered barely five miles from the aircraft base. But it was not until the 28th of July, 2005 that the fuselage (without power section) was recovered at the physical, emotional and financial expense of the families of Arnie, Dave, Fabian, Doug and Trevor. The four missing men were not on board. All seatbelts were unbuckled, although life jackets were all still stowed.

Although there was considerable evidence of engine failure on the retrieved wreckage and amongst the witness reports, which led to the ability to locate the aircraft, the Transportation Safety Board did not take possession of the wreckage, or do more than a cursory examination. They concluded their investigation with a letter to the coroner in September 2005, which left the implication that the accident had been the result of weather and pilot error.

Dissatisfied, the families produced their own report, and insisted the TSB take responsibility for recovering the engine and determining the cause of the accident. Instead they offered $10,000 in May 2006, should the families be successful in their privately financed efforts. This has led to understandably considerable delays.

With more pressure from the families, the TSB sent a new investigator to inspect the wreckage in November 2006. By this time considerable corrosion had set in, and, as expected, the results were inconclusive.

As the families continued their research, they discovered that due to jurisdictional access, Worksafe BC was not authorized to take part in the investigation. Rather, under a joint agreement with the Minister of Labour, Transport Canada Civil Aviation is expected to appoint a Minister’s Observer. Yet no Minister’s Observer was assigned to this case. Instead of immediately investigating the company operating the aircraft, Transport Canada began an Enforcement Action for “Unknown” infractions against the missing pilot. It was not until December 2006 that they sent their own inspectors to examine the wreckage. This resulted in an Enforcement Action being initiated against the Approved Maintenance Organization.

After a very expensive recovery effort failed in March 2007, the families began to appeal to, amongst others, the Federal Ministers of Transportation, Labour, Public Safety and Justice. In late May, a petition was begun addressed to Prime Minister Stephen Harper and demanding a Public Inquiry into the circumstances surrounding this accident. Having been officially endorsed by the United Steelworkers and the BC Federation of Labour, the petition is being signed on-line and on paper editions across the country.

On September 11, 2007, the families were finally successful in recovering the power section of the aircraft, and duly turned it over to the TSB for examination on September 13th.

Although some assurances have been received, the families no longer trust the officials to “do the right thing”. We have written letters to the Director General of Transport Canada Civl Aviation, Merlin Preuss, and the Director of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, Terry Burtch, outlining our expectations. (Available on website)

With this open letter to All Canadians, we appeal to you to help protect the safety of workers and other members of the travelling public by Printing this letter in your newspapers, copying and sending it to all your MPs, MLAs, and all the contacts in your email address book. Demand a public inquiry into this accident.

Please help protect the future safety of your loved ones. Let us learn from this accident, before another unnecessary death takes place.

Visit questforjustice.ca for more information, to download a paper copy, or to link to the on-line petition.


Kirsten Stevens, Campbell River BC


My condolences are with you Kirsten on the loss of your husband.


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 11:52 am
 


Our hearts are with you....


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:07 pm
 


Thank you. This is an important issue that seems to have slipped through the cracks.

There were ten children left fatherless by these preventable deaths.


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