A fire in the cockpit of an Air Canada Jazz flight heading into Vancouver two weeks ago has sparked an investigation by the Transportation Safety Board.
The aircraft, which departed from Cranbrook in B.C.'s southern Interior, was making its landing approach when a windshield heater shorted out, causing sparks and a fire next to the pilot, and cracking the inner layer of a windshield.
The crew of three handled the situation so well the 33 passengers on the Dash-8 may not have even been aware of the drama unfolding in the cockpit, TSB investigator Bill Yearwood said.
Smoke filled the cockpit, forcing the pilots to put on oxygen masks and declare an emergency, but they managed to land the plane safely. After the landing the TSB launched an investigation and sent the windshield to Ottawa for analysis.
"We're having our lab look at it to determine what caused the short and if there is anything we need to be worried about fleet wide," Yearwood said.
The plane itself has been put back in service while the TSB determines if there is a design flaw with the windshield heating system, Yearwood said.
Share Tools
Latest British Columbia News Headlines
- Police can't use ICBC facial recognition to track rioters
- ICBC cannot let police use the provincial insurance company's facial recognition technology to identify suspected Stanley Cup rioters without a court order, B.C.'s Information and Privacy Commissioner has ruled. more »
- B.C. failed to maintain province's timber supply says report
- B.C.'s auditor general has issued a scathing report about the government's management of provincial forests. more »
- Seattle stadium plans could draw NBA and NHL teams
- News that Seattle could be getting a new NBA team and maybe an NHL franchise is creating a buzz in neighbouring Vancouver. more »
- 2 small earthquakes rattle Vancouver Island
- A 4.7-magnitude earthquake shivered across northern Vancouver Island late Wednesday, the second to strike the region in two days. more »
Top News Headlines
- Dog kills newborn in Alberta community
- Officials in Airdrie are revealing few details about the fatal mauling of an infant by a family dog in the southern Alberta city. more »
- Underwear bomber sentenced to life in prison
- A Nigerian man who tried to blow up an international flight near Detroit on behalf of al-Qaida has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. more »
- 7 MPs and their fiery quotes
- The election of a majority government was seen by some as a chance for less acrimonious politics on Parliament Hill. But the past week has seen its fair share of inflammatory rhetoric on both sides of the House. more »
- Refugee reforms include fingerprints, no appeals for some
- New, tougher reforms to refugee legislation that hasn't yet come into force are already drawing fire from critics who say they give Canada's immigration minister too much power and risk the lives of claimants. more »
- B.C. house party trial hears from tearful teens
- 2 small earthquakes rattle Vancouver Island
- Unique condo tower proposed for Vancouver downtown
- Legalize pot, say former B.C. attorneys general
- 'Abysmal' B.C. courts see more cases tossed
- Home foreclosures skyrocket in Kelowna
- Man killed in fight at B.C. Hedley concert
- Pickton was not sole suspect in women's deaths
- Ex-husband faces charges in Vancouver woman's death
