Drivers ” distracted “, said the Coroner’s Office

Archival Photo, QMI Agency, Maxime Deland

Benoît Philie

Wednesday, January 10, 2018 13:10

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Wednesday, January 10, 2018 13:10

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The pilot of the plane in which the political columnist Jean Lapierre and his loved ones are dead after a crash in 2016 are distracted at a crucial moment, concludes the Coroner’s Office.

• Read also : Death of Jean Lapierre : a pilot error caused the crash, according to the TSB

“The occupants of the cockpit have been discussing things that were not essential especially during an important phase of the flight, or the descent […], and this may help to distract them and decrease their attention,” said Dr. Martin Clavet, in its reports of investigations made public today.

“There was then a succession of factors that have led to the decision to continue an approach unstable. I judge that the crash as such was avoidable and, therefore, that the deaths resulting were preventable, ” he added in a press conference.

According to the coroner, the drivers were discussing the matter with other systems of the aircraft at the time when the first signs of instability of the device have emerged. “It was a familiarization flight for the passenger, driver, then it is explained as the device worked,” says Mr. Clavet.

Jean Lapierre, his wife Nicole Beaulieu, two of his brothers, Marc and Louis Lapierre, and one of his sisters, Martine Lapierre, perished in the plane crash. The ex-politician was travelling with his family to the funeral of his father.

Drivers Pascal Gosselin Fabrice and Labourel, too, have lost their lives in the accident. The descent took place very quickly : about six seconds, according to the Office of the transportation safety board of Canada.

All the occupants died on the spot ” of a polytrauma blunt, as a result of the crash of the plane “, said in the report.

The police investigation indicated that there was nothing suspicious that could suggest a criminal act.

The coroner’s Office makes recommendations to Transport Canada to prevent this kind of occurrence.