A14 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, July 26, 1995

Plane crash
still puzzling |

INVESTIGATORS HAVEN’T
found out why a plane crashed
into a glacier near Stewart last
year, killing its pilot and five pas-
sengers.

But federal investigators say it
is possible there may have been
whiteout weather conditions in
the area at time of the May 25,
1994 crash.

Killed were pilot Dave Blais of
Blue Ice Flightseeing of Stewart
and five members of a tour group
~~ Fleur Pichon of London, En-
gland, Louls Michael Couvillion
of Los Angeles, Brian Derrick of
Port Coquitlam, Christine
McCarthy of Rotorua, New
Zealand, and Jennifer Francis of
Burwood, Australia, =

‘Unfortunately there are some
circumstances in which you can-
not be 100 per cent sure. We
could not determine why it hap-
pened,”’ said Daniel Lawson of
the federal Transportation Safety
Board.

He said Jack of survivors and
witnesses meant investigators
lacked precise details as to the
events immediately before the
crash,

Film developed from cameras
taken from the aircraft’s wreck-
age showed weather conditions
appeared to be clear but there’s
no indication of when those pic-
tures were taken in relation to the
time of the crash, Lawson added,

A transportation safety board
found there was no evidence of
engine failure or structural failure

schoo!
hire still
under
review

Nass Valley still haven’t de-
cided whether they’ll hire a

Surrey. administrator who
resigned amid sexual harass-
ment allegations.

Dr. Art Tindill was recruited
by School District #92 this
spring as the new principal at
Nisga’a ': Elementary
Secondary School.

Then Nass Valley residents
found out about Tindill’s his-
tory in Surrey and the school
board began backtracking.

Trustees responded by hold-
ing a week-long series of pub-
lic meetings in the Nass in
May to address parents’ con-
cerns, Tindill was present and
answered questions at. those
meetings.

The school ‘board ¥ was schede;

uled to meet last week to dis-
cuss the issue.

Schools superintendent Al
vin McKay said the board is
holding off on a decision until
it deals with those concerns.

‘One of the communities

had a small group from within
that requested further meet-
ings,’’ McKay explained.

‘Most of the concerns were
what kind of program would
be mounted for the coming
ycar,'’ he said.

‘They also had some stand-
ing concems which weren’t
dealth with in other years.”

Tindill’s. reputation as an ef-
fective and innovative admin-
istrator was one of the board’s
reasons for recruiting him,
Mckay said.

Surrey newspapers described
Tindill as a ‘‘rising star’? and
“‘one of Surrey’s brightest ad-
ministrators’’ in the aftermath
of his resignation.

““That was pretty well borne
out in the meetings,”’ McKay
said.

Trustees have consistently
refused comment. McKay is
_ the only person authorized to
speak for them, and had
avoided reporters’ calls for at
least a month.

Tindill resigned from the
Surrey school district in
March after a year-long inves-
tigation, commissioned by the
school board there, concluded
he did sexually harass five fe-
male co-workers.

‘Most of the allegations of
,Sexual harassment against the
Respondent are sub-
stantiated,”’ the report states.

during flight.
* The aircraft struck Mackie.

Glacier at a high speed and in a
steep, nose-down angle, appar-
ently out of the pilot’s control.

The aircraft was a six-seater
Cherokee Piper, a new aircraft to
Blais who had been using a
smaller Cessna 172 in previous
years for sightsceing flights.

Blais delayed an planned mom-
ing flight the day of the crash,
May 24, 1994, because of poor
weather in the Stewart area.

The plane did take off at 1:30
p.m. and was reported overdue
two hours later.

It was located that evening by
military. search and. rescue air-
craft, The plane’s. emergency
locator transmitter guided sear-
chers to the location.

Investigators did find that the

aircraft . lacked commercial
registration and ‘was using
automotive fuel.

And they found that neither
pilot nor passengers were dressed
for cold weather had the aircraft
been forced down on the glacier.

’ The safety board’s Lawson said
the aircraft wasn’t required to
carry a flight recorder or cockpit
voice recorder,

Blais was a Stewart town coun- . &

cillor. The town’s chamber of
commerce building is named in
his honour,

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~ Openly and Fairly.

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claims that have been unresolved for more than 100 years. Fair and lasting treaties will create
a more stable economy and many opportunities which will benefit all British Columbians.

. Ultimately, the amount of land provided as‘part of settlements

AS ~ will be in proportion to the aboriginal population...about

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