Latest news with #YoanMarier
CBC
23-07-2025
- General
- CBC
TSB launches national investigation after report on P.E.I. ferry fire reveals safety gaps
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has released its final report into the July 2022 fire aboard the MV Holiday Island ferry off Prince Edward Island's coast, saying it will launch a national safety issue investigation on vessel fires and emergency response practices to lessen the impact of future incidents. That investigation "opens the door to a national conversation on vessel fire safety to ensure that every person who steps aboard any vessel in Canada can do so with confidence that systems are in place to protect them," the board's chair, Yoan Marier, was quoted as saying in a news release. The TSB's findings on the Holiday Island fire were presented during a news conference in Charlottetown, P.E.I., on Wednesday. Among other things, the watchdog agency raised concerns about role confusion between Transport Canada and Northumberland Ferries Limited, the vessel's operator, when the fire broke out as the Holiday Island was approaching the dock in Wood Islands, on P.E.I.'s southeastern coast. The report found that although Northumberland Ferries was responsible for operating the vessel, Transport Canada retained accountability, with the federal transport minister acting as the vessel's "authorized representative" — the person legally responsible for the ship's safety. The report found that staff at both organizations were unclear about what the role of authorized representative entailed and who was ultimately responsible for key safety and oversight duties. "The lack of clarity extended to critical areas such as operations, emergency repairs and oversight. Communications between the operator and Transport Canada were informal, and oversight of vessel maintenance and operations was limited," Marier said. 'There is still more to do' Mark Wilson, president and CEO of Northumberland Ferries, said in a statement that the company welcomes the TSB's findings. He said NFL has already taken 16 corrective actions to improve its performance in advance of the report's release. "These actions included enhancing our emergency training, revising and updating procedures, and strengthening operational protocols," Wilson was quoted as saying in the statement. "We recognize that there is still more to do and we will work with Transport Canada to ensure that the report's findings are implemented in a timely and effective fashion." What happened aboard the Holiday Island? The fire broke out in the ferry's engine room at around 11 a.m. AT on July 22, 2022, about an hour into the ferry's crossing from Caribou, N.S., to Wood Islands. More than 200 people were evacuated from the vessel. No injuries were reported. The 50-year-old ferry had been scheduled for replacement in 2027, but had to be scrapped early due to the extensive damage it suffered in the fire. Étienne Séguin-Bertrand, the senior investigator and safety analyst with the TSB, said the age of the vessel was not a contributing factor in the blaze. He said the fire began after a non-standard repair to the ferry's fuel injection system failed, causing fuel to spray onto hot engine parts and ignite. The issue started with a small leak in the fuel rail of the main engine's injection system. The crew initially patched it with gasket material and consulted the manufacturer's representative while waiting for replacement parts, Séguin-Bertrand said. "The repairs kept failing, so they kept applying further temporary repairs," he said. "What is especially concerning in this case is that there was no reviewed risk assessment performed by the operator of the ferry to take into account the additional risks that were posed by the presence of those temporary repairs on board." Long-standing issue Marier noted this is not the first time the TSB has flagged concerns related to the authorized representative role. "If authorized representatives do not have a clear understanding of the scope of their responsibilities with respect to safety, vessels may operate without the minimum defences provided by meeting the regulatory requirements, and critical safety obligations can be inadequately addressed or worse, overlooked," he said. The Holiday Island fire was one of nearly 400 fires on commercial vessels reported to the TSB over the past decade. Since its inception 35 years ago, the board has issued nine safety concerns and 10 recommendations related to fire safety. As a result of this latest investigation, the board has issued a formal recommendation calling on Transport Canada to provide detailed guidance for authorized representatives. "This guidance should support authorized representatives in understanding and complying with applicable regulations, thereby reducing the risks of vessels and crews operating without the minimum safety defenses afforded by regulatory compliance," Marier said. Do not mistake luck for emergency preparedness. — Yoan Marier, Transportation Safety Board of Canada The investigation also found that the Holiday Island engine room's CO2 fire suppression unit was not initially activated due to unclear instructions. Although the crew believed the system had engaged, the supression unit had not actually discharged. The delay allowed the fire to intensify. "Additionally, the engine room had not fully been sealed. As a result, when the CO2 was finally released, it likely dispersed and allowed oxygen to continue entering the space. This reduced the suppression system's effectiveness, and the fire continued to burn." Séguin-Bertrand said. Thanks to the efforts of the crew and first responders, the fire was contained to the ferry's engine room and did not spread further. Marier noted the emergency response was ultimately successful, but said that was largely due to luck. "The fire broke out when the vessel was near the terminal. It was daylight, the weather was manageable. The seas were calm. A modern evacuation system had been installed earlier that year, and help was nearby," he said.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Delta plane triggered fast descent warning before flipping and catching fire on runway
An alert warning system on the Delta Air Lines jet that flipped upside down upon landing last month signalled a fast descent before it crash-landed in Toronto, investigators have found. The Transport Safety Board of Canada (TSB), which is investigating the plane that flipped while landing on 17 February leaving passengers 'hanging upside down like bats', has released a preliminary report on the incident. All 76 passengers and four crew members travelling from Minneapolis to the Canadian city survived the landing. 21 people were hospitalised but were released several days after the crash. Canada's TSB preliminary report says that when the plane's ground proximity warning system sounded 2.6 seconds before touchdown, it indicated a 'high rate of descent' with the airspeed at 136 knots, which is around 155mph. A flight operations manual defines a hard landing, when a plane lands at a greater vertical descent rate than normal, as more than 600 feet per minute (fpm). Just before the crash, the rate of descent was recorded as 1,100 fpm. It also revealed that the plane's landing gear had folded into the retracted position during touchdown after its side stay, which supports and locks the gear, fractured. 'The right main landing gear outboard side-stay fractured at the connection to the landing gear strut; the landing gear then folded inward. The side-stay remained in the down-and-locked position,' the report said. 'Various other components of the landing gear strut and side-stay attachment fittings were found scattered along the runway'. The report also noted that wing the detached from the fuselage, releasing a cloud of jet fuel that caught fire. The plane then slid along the runway, rolling to the right until it became inverted, with other parts such as a portion of the tail becoming detatched during the roll, until it came to a rest on the runway. The TSB also noted that the flight deck door was jammed shut, so the pilots had to climb out an emergency escape hatch on the ceiling of the cockpit. Some of the injuries sustained by passengers occurred when they unbuckled from their seats and fell to the ceiling, but the TSB added it is not aware of any safety belt or sear failures during the crash. The report has not identified a cause for the crash as it is too early on in the investigation timeline, and the preliminary information gathered could change as it continues. 'Accidents and incidents rarely stem from a single cause,' said Yoan Marier, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in a statement. 'They're often the result of multiple, complex interconnected factors, many extending beyond the aircraft and its operation to wider systemic issues.' The safety board said the investigation is still ongoing and is currently focusing on looking into examining the wing structure, flight deck door structure and design, landing techniques, pilot training and passenger evacuation. In a statement in response to the preliminary report, Delta said: 'For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people. 'That's why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. 'Out of respect for the integrity of this work that will continue through their final report, Endeavor Air and Delta will refrain from comment.'
The Independent
21-03-2025
- General
- The Independent
Delta plane triggered fast descent warning before flipping and catching fire on runway
An alert warning system on the Delta Air Lines jet that flipped upside down upon landing last month signalled a fast descent before it crash -landed in Toronto, investigators have found. The Transport Safety Board of Canada (TSB), which is investigating the plane that flipped while landing on 17 February leaving passengers 'hanging upside down like bats', has released a preliminary report on the incident. All 76 passengers and four crew members travelling from Minneapolis to the Canadian city survived the landing. 21 people were hospitalised but were released several days after the crash. Canada's TSB preliminary report says that when the plane's ground proximity warning system sounded 2.6 seconds before touchdown, it indicated a 'high rate of descent' with the airspeed at 136 knots, which is around 155mph. A flight operations manual defines a hard landing, when a plane lands at a greater vertical descent rate than normal, as more than 600 feet per minute (fpm). Just before the crash, the rate of descent was recorded as 1,100 fpm. It also revealed that the plane's landing gear had folded into the retracted position during touchdown after its side stay, which supports and locks the gear, fractured. 'The right main landing gear outboard side-stay fractured at the connection to the landing gear strut; the landing gear then folded inward. The side-stay remained in the down-and-locked position,' the report said. 'Various other components of the landing gear strut and side-stay attachment fittings were found scattered along the runway'. The report also noted that wing the detached from the fuselage, releasing a cloud of jet fuel that caught fire. The plane then slid along the runway, rolling to the right until it became inverted, with other parts such as a portion of the tail becoming detatched during the roll, until it came to a rest on the runway. The TSB also noted that the flight deck door was jammed shut, so the pilots had to climb out an emergency escape hatch on the ceiling of the cockpit. Some of the injuries sustained by passengers occurred when they unbuckled from their seats and fell to the ceiling, but the TSB added it is not aware of any safety belt or sear failures during the crash. The report has not identified a cause for the crash as it is too early on in the investigation timeline, and the preliminary information gathered could change as it continues. 'Accidents and incidents rarely stem from a single cause,' said Yoan Marier, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in a statement. 'They're often the result of multiple, complex interconnected factors, many extending beyond the aircraft and its operation to wider systemic issues.' The safety board said the investigation is still ongoing and is currently focusing on looking into examining the wing structure, flight deck door structure and design, landing techniques, pilot training and passenger evacuation. In a statement in response to the preliminary report, Delta said: 'For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people. 'That's why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
CNN
20-03-2025
- General
- CNN
Landing gear support broke as Delta regional jet landed and flipped at Toronto airport, preliminary report says
Summary A landing gear support broke on a Delta regional jet that flipped during landing at Toronto's airport in February, according to a preliminary report from Canada's Transportation Safety Board. Preliminary findings show the landing gear support broke, the gear retracted, and the right wing broke releasing jet fuel, which led to a fire and explosion. All 80 passengers and crew survived the crash, with 21 people sustaining injuries. The report noted a rapid descent alarm just before the plane hit the runway, titled 7.5 degrees to the right. An official determination on probable cause could take up to 600 days. A landing gear support broke as a Delta Air Lines regional jet was landing before it flipped upside down, leaving passengers 'hanging like bats' at Toronto Pearson International in February, according to a preliminary report from Canada's Transportation Safety Board. On February 17, the CRJ-900, operated by Endeavor Airlines as Delta Connection Flight 4819 from Minneapolis to Toronto, landed in a fiery crash that ripped off a wing and rolled the plane upside down. All 80 passengers and crew made it out alive. Twenty-one were injured, including two seriously. On touchdown, investigators determined the side-stay attached to the aircraft's right main landing gear fractured, the gear retracted, and the right wing broke between the landing gear and fuselage, which is the central part of the plane. When the wing detached, 6,000 pounds of jet fuel onboard sprayed out leading to a fire and explosion. The cockpit door was jammed shut, so the pilots had to climb out of an emergency hatch located on the ceiling of the cockpit, the report says. Thursday's preliminary report does not identify what caused the crash or the broken landing gear. An official determination on probable cause could take up to 600 days. 'Accidents and incidents rarely stem from a single cause,' said Yoan Marier, chair of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in a statement. 'They're often the result of multiple, complex interconnected factors, many extending beyond the aircraft and its operation to wider systemic issues.' Less than three seconds before touchdown, investigators noted, the plane warned pilots with an audible alarm that they were descending quickly and the plane banked to the right. It was still descending rapidly when it hit the runway, titled 7.5 degrees to the right. Investigators have examined components of the flight controls on the crashed plane, but didn't note any obvious pre-existing malfunctions, the report says. Investigators probing the crash replicated several approaches and landings in a CRJ-900 simulator, according to the report. Going forward, the safety board will examine the metal making up the wing, certification of the landing gear and wing, landing techniques and pilot training, the evacuation, as well as flight attendant training and coordination in emergencies. 'For everyone at Endeavor Air and Delta, nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and our people,' Delta Air Lines said in a statement. 'That's why we remain fully engaged as participants in the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Out of respect for the integrity of this work that will continue through their final report, Endeavor Air and Delta will refrain from comment.'
New York Times
20-03-2025
- General
- New York Times
Airliner Was Descending Fast Before It Flipped on Landing, Report Finds
A Delta Air Lines passenger jet that flipped over, burned and lost a wing after landing in Toronto last month was descending at what experts called an excessive speed when it touched down, according to a preliminary report from the Canadian authorities. The report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, an independent agency, found that a warning about the plane's rapid descent had sounded just before it touched down, and the plane was dropping at nearly twice the rate that qualifies as a 'hard landing' in the flight operations manual of the Delta subsidiary, Endeavor Air, that was operating the jet. A descent greater than 600 feet per minute is considered a 'hard landing,' according to the manual. Just before the crash, the plane was descending at 1,100 feet per minute, the report said. When the plane landed, a part attached to the main landing gear on the right side broke, according to the report. In a matter of seconds, the jet rolled to its right, still skidding down the runway, the right wing snapped off, the plane burst into flames and it came to a stop upside down. 'It was descending much too fast,' said Jeff Guzzetti, a former U.S. accident investigator for the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board. 'It's possible that the rate of descent was so great that it exceeded the design stress limits of that landing gear.' Despite the dramatic events, all 80 people on board, including 76 passengers and four crew members, were able to evacuate safely. After the plane was empty, there was an explosion near the left wing. The report did not assign a cause for the Feb. 17 crash or the explosion, and the safety board said that its work was ongoing. 'Accident and incidents rarely stem from a single cause,' Yoan Marier, chairman of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said in a video statement. The plane, a CRJ 900 made by Bombardier, had left Minneapolis and was arriving at Toronto Pearson International Airport in windy conditions, which aviation safety experts said can complicate the landing process. According to the safety board's report, the plane's air speed increased, apparently from a wind gust, less than 15 seconds before landing. The pilot reduced thrust, which experts described as a typical response. But, less than three seconds before landing, the alert sounded warning that the plane was dropping too fast. The plane's nose was also pointed upward at a one-degree angle, lower than the three to eight degrees recommended by the operations manual 'Everything went to hell in the last seconds,' said Ben Berman, a safety consultant who is also a former airline pilot and federal crash investigator in the United States. The conditions the pilots faced that day can make flying 'very difficult,' he added. The captain of the plane, who was also a simulator instructor, had worked for Endeavor since 2007, and had 764 hours of flight time on the type of plane involved in the crash. The first officer, who was flying the plane, had worked for the airline since January 2024 and had nearly 420 hours of experience with that aircraft model. Such experience is not unusual for pilots at smaller airlines like Endeavor, aviation experts said. At least 21 people were injured in the crash. Passengers hung upside down in their seats after the crash, held up by their seatbelts, the report said. Two days after the crash, Delta Air Lines offered each passenger $30,000, which the company said came with 'no strings attached.' Passengers have filed several lawsuits against the company in the United States, and Vincent Genova, a Toronto-based lawyer, said his firm has been retained by 12 Canadian passengers.
