Two escape injury, but accident raises questions

Two men narrowly escaped serious injury on Aug. 19 when their Cessna 208 seaplane overturned as it attempted to land in the Barnouin River, 200 kilometres northwest of Kuujjuaq.

By chance, the Pierre-Radisson Coast Guard vessel was only 130 km away when a mayday call went out from the fishing camp operated by Rapid Lake outfitters. A helicopter was dispatched from the boat to pick up the two men, who were taken to the Tulattavik Hospital in Kuujjuaq.

The $2 million seaplane was owned by Guay Inc., one of Quebec’s largest construction companies.

Coast Guard officials say the weather was good at the time of the accident. A Transport Safety investigation shed light on the seaplane’s rough landing, which was apparently caused because the pilot forgot to retract the seaplane’s wheels into its floaters before landing in the water.

The passenger of the plane, Nicholas Massé, was fishing in Torngat region with his father, Henri Massé, who is the head of Quebec’s powerful labour union, La Fédération des travailleurs du Québec, with 500,000 members.

This week, the Journal de Montréal revealed that the head of Guay Inc. and the president of the FTQ’s construction union were also on the fishing trip, raising questions about who organized and subsidized the outing.

“When you represent people, you must refuse gifts…this applies to ministers…and it also applies to union leaders,” wrote Patrick Lagacé. “Who paid?”