A fatal plane crash near Owen Sound last summer could have been avoided, according to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
Investigators released their report into the July 4, 2013 crash near Griffith Island in Georgian Bay, on Thursday morning. TSB investigators say the Cessna 182 was “overweight”, when it stalled and collided with the water approximately 1,000 feet southeast of a runway on the island.
The TSBC believe being over the plane’s maximum weight allowances increased the risk of an aerodynamic stall. Investigators also found, “that the aircraft had undocumented major modifications to the seat and safety-belt installations, and that it was not in conformance with applicable airworthiness standards at the time of the crash.”
Their report also suggests the plane crash was survivable, but was certainly enough to cause extensive damage to the plane.
The two occupants in the front seats did not survive due to the severity of the impact, while the occupant in the rear seat who was wearing an improperly-installed seatbelt survived the impact, but then drowned.
Richard Leland Gougeon, 71, James Thornton Gougeon, 42, and pilot Richard Ross, 51, all from the Sudbury, are the deceased from the crash.
