National

Pilots safe as B.C. plane crashes in Australia

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 06 Feb, 2023 04:56 PM

PORT ALBERNI, B.C. - A Boeing 737 air tanker owned by a British Columbia company has crashed in Western Australia while on deployment to a fire.

Coulson Aviation, based in Port Alberni on Vancouver Island, says in a statement that both pilots walked away from the accident and have been medically assessed.

The statement says the company is offering all the support it can to its local and international crews and is grateful to its firefighting and aviation industry colleagues in Australia.

Coulson announced last month that it had been awarded a contract to provide its Boeing 737 FireLiner, designated tanker 139, as Australia's new large air tanker.

At the time, the company said the state-of-the-art aircraft was capable of dropping more than 15,000 litres of retardant or water at flow rates of up to 11,000 litres per second.

While it's unclear what caused the crash, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. says the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau are conducting separate investigations into the crash.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Trial for B.C. mayor charged with public mischief

McCallum ran his campaign against the backdrop of the charge laid last December, four months after he complained to the RCMP that a woman collecting signatures to keep the Mounties in Surrey ran over his foot outside a grocery store.

Trial for B.C. mayor charged with public mischief

NTSB seeks inspection of Canadian-made plane

The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board issued an urgent safety recommendation Thursday, calling on Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to require immediate inspections of De Havilland Canada DHC-3 airplanes, better known as the DHC-3 Otter.

NTSB seeks inspection of Canadian-made plane

Feds move toward stand-alone dental insurance

Health Canada officials, who gave a briefing on the condition they not be named publicly, said that would help the government refine the program before hiring a company to do the work. The Liberals committed to some form of federal dental-care coverage for low-income Canadians in its March confidence and supply agreement with the New Democrats.

Feds move toward stand-alone dental insurance

Freeland's fiscal update coming Thursday

The fiscal update, to be presented in the House of Commons, will also share the government's outlook for an economy facing high inflation and staring down a potential recession in the coming months.

Freeland's fiscal update coming Thursday

New storm bears down on coastal B.C.

The incoming storm is also expected to deluge parts of Metro Vancouver, including Coquitlam and Maple Ridge, with more than 100 millimetres of rain before it eases late Sunday and the weather office says rainfall warnings are likely to be issued as the forecasts are refined.

New storm bears down on coastal B.C.

Dental care benefit passes third reading

Dental care is a pillar of the supply and confidence deal between the Liberals and the NDP. The Liberals promised to launch a federal dental care insurance program by the end of 2022, starting with coverage for children from low- and middle-income families.