Fatal ORNGE crash report to be released by Transportation Safety Board
Two pilots, two paramedics died in the fatal crash on May 31, 2013
The Transportation Safety Board is expected to release its long-awaited report Wednesday morning on the Ornge air ambulance crash that killed two pilots and two paramedics flying out of Moosonee more than three years ago.
The crew was on its way to pick up a patient on the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario when the helicopter they were traveling in crashed one kilometre from an airport in Moosonee, Ont., shortly after taking off in the early morning hours of May 31, 2013 .
The TSB will be addressing the media Wednesday morning at the Sheraton Centre Toronto Hotel to reveal the findings of its investigation into the crash.
The Federal Ministry of Labour laid 17 charges against the Ontario air ambulance service in a separate investigation on May 30, 2014, exactly one day before the one-year anniversary of the crash.
A court document obtained by CBC News revealed that many of the charges related directly to sections of the Canada Labour Code that govern pilots with little experience operating aircraft together.
The document alleges that Ornge permitted the pilots to fly the S-76A helicopter "without adequate training in the operation of that specific aircraft," failed to provide the pilots with "a means to enable them to maintain visual reference while operating at night," and that Donald Mark Filliter, the crew's captain, had "insufficient experience in night operations."
In November 2013, investigators from Transport Canada also handed down seven directions to Ornge following its investigation into the Moosonee crash.
Federal investigators said Ornge failed to adequately educate its pilots on the health and safety hazards associated with northern operations, among other problems.