2012 Nunavut air crash report enters review stage

Six passengers and two crew were injured in the Dec. 22, 2012 turboprop crash at the end of the Sanikiluaq airport. One infant passenger was killed. (FILE PHOTO)

The investigator charged with finding out why a Fairchild Metro 3 turboprop aircraft crashed at the end of the Sanikiluaq runway just before Christmas 2012, causing the death of a six-month-old passenger, has now completed her draft report.

But the final report is still months away from being released, as it must now undergo an internal, and a third-party review.

John Cottreau, spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board, said July 14 that the draft report on the Sanikiluaq crash was sent to head office in Gatineau on July 3 and is now undergoing a technical review in the “standards and performance” branch.

It will then be reviewed by higher level members of the board who may have more complex questions or concerns.

“The board will do its own review. It has to be written to their satisfaction,” Cottreau said.

Once they are satisfied with the contents, the board will then identify third-party individuals, organizations and businesses who can assist with “factual accuracy” and circulate the report among them.

Those parties generally have 30 days to review the draft, but extensions are allowed if necessary.

Once the facts have been tested for accuracy, the board will then incorporate any necessary changes and release the final report to the public.

“We’re still months away,” Cottreau said, which means it might be out before the second anniversary of the crash, but there is no guarantee. “It’s really hard to foresee the future.”

The aircraft, operated by Perimeter Aviation LP and chartered by Keewatin Air, crashed about a half kilometre from the end of the runway in Sanikiluaq.

It left Winnipeg at 1:40, three days before Christmas, and ran off the runway around 6 p.m. on Dec. 22.

Six passengers and two crew members — a pilot and co-pilot — received treatment for non-life threatening injuries at the Sanikiluaq health centre and were released soon afterward.

About an hour before the crash, Environment Canada was reporting light snow, a temperature of 5 C, and winds from the north at 28km/h gusting to 46.