Monday, 22 August 2011 11:13
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| Wreckage of Boeing 737 in Resolute Bay, Nunavut. |
They hope the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, flown from the Arctic community of Resolute Bay on Sunday for analysis, will help them determine the cause of Saturday's crash of First Air Flight 6560.
Officials say it will be several days before they'll be able to analyze the information gathered in the final moments of the flight and their final report on the crash could take more than a year.
All but three of the 15 people on board died when the aircraft slammed into a hill as the crew prepared to land after a flight from Yellowknife.
Experts conduct investigation in Resolute
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| Military personnel work near the scene of the First Air crash site in Resolute Bay on Sunday. Photo Canadian Press. |
Officials with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are on the scene, working closely with RCMP forensics experts.
On Monday, First Air CEO Jesse Fraser headed to Resolute to mourn with the community. Airline president Scott Bateman was also flying in to see the crash site for himself.
The aircraft is reported to have broken into three sections as it hit the hillside. An airport worker said there was a low cloud ceiling at the time of the crash.
"You couldn't see nothing with the fog," said James McKinnon, who was there filling a truck with fuel when the crash occurred. "But when the fog lifted you could see the smoke and everything scattered all over the hillside and then the military got in to action and they moved up there probably within 10 minutes."
First Air said the plane's last reported communication was at 12:40 p.m. CT, approximately eight kilometres from the airport, and that the plane went down 10 minutes later.
First Air spokesman Christopher Ferris on Sunday said "the cause of the accident is unknown."
"Everybody's still in shock," said McKibbon, adding he had friends who died in the crash. "It's just unbelievable. Everybody is just really sad. Their hearts go out to all the people who have lost loved ones."
Survivors still being treated in hospital
Aziz Kheraj, the owner of the South Camp Inn in Resolute and a former mayor of the community, had two granddaughters on the plane. Gabrielle Eckalook, 7, survived with a broken leg and cuts, but her six-year-old sister, Cheyenne, died. Gabrielle is being treated for her injuries at Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.
The girls were making their way back from a trip to see their father in British Columbia and had planned to stop in Resolute before travelling home to Iqaluit.
A 48-year-old man who was on the First Air flight is being treated at the Ottawa Hospital.
A third survivor, a 23-year-old woman, is in hospital in Iqaluit. All three are in stable condition, according to the RCMP.
One passengers who was killed, Ches Tibbo from Harbour Mille, N.L., had been in a previous Arctic plane crash in 2008 and had been afraid to fly ever since. While the RCMP have not officially identified any of the dead, they do say next of kin have been notified.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will visit Resolute on Tuesday, where he will meet with community members and first responders involved in rescue and recovery efforts. Harper was supposed to spend a couple of nights in the community as part of his annual northern tour.
"Our thoughts and prayers remain with those affected by Saturday's tragic plane crash," Harper said in a statement. "Thanks to the Herculean efforts of first responders, including members of the Canadian Armed Forces, lives were saved that otherwise might have been lost."
A Canadian Forces team happened to be in the area on summer exercises to practise rescue and disaster response techniques.