Beaver Crash Cause Unknown

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The pilot of a Beaver floatplane that crashed appears to be the only one who can shed light on the cause of the accident, which killed six passengers on Sunday off British Columbia’s west coast. The Seair Beaver had just left Saturna Island, about 30 miles south of Vancouver, when witnesses said it “nosedived” into the water. The unidentified pilot and a female passenger survived but the other six, including a six-month-old baby, never got out and the airplane sunk to the bottom of the shallow strait between B.C.’s mainland and Vancouver Island. The aircraft was recovered Tuesday but so far officials have said there is nothing unusual about the wreck. It will be examined thoroughly but the pilot, who remains in hospital with multiple injuries, has not yet provided a statement.

Seair is a British Columbia charter airline that, according to industry officials, has a stellar reputation for maintenance and operations. The aircraft, which was featured in the Harrison Ford movie Six Days and Seven Nights in the late 1990s went through a full overhaul about a year ago. It was built in 1957 but is one of more than 600 Beavers still in service all over the world. Weather conditions were not considered unusual. The pilot had six years of experience, three of them with Seair.

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