Seaplane collision in Coal Harbour shows similarities to 1999 accident

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This weekend’s seaplane collision in Coal Harbour was the first in a quarter century, according to a Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) database of aviation safety investigations.

In this case, a boat carrying two tourists was struck by a seaplane from Victoria as it attempted to land at about 4.40pm. The tourists were injured and one was hospitalized with broken ribs and a collapsed lung. No passengers on the seaplane were injured.

The Vancouver Fire Department said two people on the boat were hospitalized following Saturday’s collision, but no further details on their condition were provided.

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Both Saturday’s collision and the one in 1999 occurred in a similar area of ​​the harbour, in the waters between Canada Place and Stanley Park. The area, known as Area Alpha, is one of three seaplane take-off and landing zones in Vancouver Harbour.

Area Alpha is “absolutely” the busiest of the three zones, said Randy Hanna, founder of Nanaimo-based Pacific Seaplanes.

According to Harbour Air’s website, there are between 60,000 and 70,000 seaplane takeoffs and landings in Vancouver Harbour each year, and another 25,000 to 30,000 aircraft enter the airspace.

According to a statement from seaplane operator Harbour Air, there were five passengers on board the plane that collided with a boat on Saturday.

“During takeoff, while conducting a sightseeing flight with five passengers on board, our aircraft came into contact with a boat. All five passengers on the aircraft and the pilot are unharmed and safe,” the statement said.

At the time of the 1999 collision, the seaplane’s pilot had been given permission to land from the control tower, which is located at the top of a high-rise building at the foot of Granville Street. The control room offers 360-degree views and is about 142 metres above sea level – making it the highest air traffic control room in the world.

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Nevertheless, the only air traffic controller on duty at the time did not notice the boat as he scanned the area before clearing the aircraft to land.

“The lighting contrast around Canada Place (shadow areas and bright sunlight) may have affected his ability to spot the boat,” the report said. “It is also possible that the boat was obscured from his field of vision by the stern of the large cruise ship anchored in Canada Place.”

Today, the control tower is typically staffed by four air traffic controllers on the busiest days in the summer, Harbour Air said.

Hanna, who has flown seaplanes into Vancouver Harbour and back “thousands” of times, is convinced that today’s air traffic controllers have a lot of experience and are well trained.

Hanna said when it comes to boats and other watercraft – which includes seaplanes until they take off – the collision laws clearly state: “If there is something on your right, you must yield the right of way.”

According to Nav Canada’s website, the private, nonprofit company is “responsible for the safe coordination and efficient movement of aircraft… including the flight paths and airways used by airlines.”

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Vanessa Adams, government and media relations manager for Nav Canada, refused to answer Postmedia’s questions on Sunday about regulating traffic between boats and seaplanes in the port, referring all questions to the Transportation Safety Board.

A TSB spokesman said it was “too early to say what the causes and contributing factors were” but investigators were on site on Sunday and had begun interviewing witnesses.

Both the boat and the plane involved in the accident have been recovered, the spokesman said.

The only other collision in British Columbia in the database involving boats and seaplanes occurred in 2021, when an aircraft operated by Tofino Air collided with a water taxi in Tofino Harbour.

Within two and a half minutes of the collision, “the seaplane was on its back with only the floats still above the water surface,” the report said.

Five passengers and the pilot were able to leave the plane safely. All six and one passenger in the water taxi suffered minor injuries.

The TSB spokesman said investigators would “examine the wreckage, continue to gather information and conduct additional interviews” over the next few days.

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There is currently no timetable for when a report on Saturday’s collision might be released.

With files from Doug Quan and Tiffany Craword

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