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KELOWNA’S Jordan Krause (left) is ready to step up to NCAA division one hockey after helping Canada win the world under-18 women’s title.
OKANAGAN COLLEGE’S first dean of its school of business, Jayne Brooks, has been named the colleges new director of learning and teaching.
THE WESTBANK MUSEUM is building a trapper’s cabin to serve as an exhibit that will focus on the famed Okanagan Fur Brigade Trail and let the museum tell the story of this piece of local history.
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THURSDAY August 16, 2012 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
▼ TSB
Investigators comb through plane crash site Investigators have started removing the wreckage of a small plane that crashed into rugged terrain near Brenda Mines on Monday, leaving one person dead and three others clinging to life. The Piper PA30 Twin Comanche was en route to Boundary Bay from Penticton Monday afternoon, when it plunged into the wooded area just off the Okanagan Connector, 30 kilometres west of Kelowna. Just after 3 p.m. the impact set off an emergency beacon that a WestJet plane picked up and relayed to the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria. A Buffalo search and rescue plane homed in on it at around 5 p.m., said Rod Braun of the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue, and that’s when it became clear that a rescue effort was necessary and ground crews pushed through the difficult terrain to assist. Passenger Jayson Dallas Wesley Smith, 30, of South Surrey, was found dead at the site. But three others, including the pilot, made it through an impact that was intense enough to bend the small plane in half. It’s been reported that at least one survivor
was able to speak to rescue workers as they approached, but all were in critical condition. “A man and a woman were airlifted to Kelowna General Hospital and a second woman was airlifted to Kamloops Royal Inland Hospital last night from the crash site,” said Const. Kris Clark of the Kelowna RCMP. The woman who was initially transported to Kelowna, was later moved to Vancouver as her health declined. No further information about her, or the others’ condition was available as of Wednesday afternoon. If they recover, however, the Transportation Safety Board investigators want to talk to them to see if their recollections clarify why the small plane smashed into the mountainside. To that end, two investigators had already started cataloguing everything at the crash site by Tuesday afternoon, and their efforts were expected to continue throughout the week. “They’ve related to me they’re dealing with a complete wreckage, but there was no fire,” said Bill Yearwood, of the TSB. “At least we don’t have to deal with that.” That means they should have a better chance at figuring out why it crashed—some-
thing that’s been a challenge with the investigation into a floatplane crash that killed three in the same area four months earlier. While Yearwood wouldn’t speculate if the Brenda Mines area was particularly treacherous for pilots, he did say that would be a focus of the investigation. “The mountainous region is challenging for pilots, but the particular challenges in that area are not documented or specific. It is going to be part of our investigation to see if there are any similarities to this accident scenario and the one from May,” he said. “If we determine anything that’s an immediate threat to aviation, the safety board will issue an immediate warning.” The air quality may also have been a problem for the pilot. “I was flying (Monday) at the time, and we too had hazy conditions,” said Yearwood. “I don’t know what (air quality was) in Kelowna at the time, but our investigators will get as much information as we can.” Anyone who was on the highway or may have seen the plane are encouraged to call into the TSB and offer their recollections, as it may assist with the investigation. (See related story A4.)
CONTRIBUTED
A PLANE CRASH MONDAY near Peachland happened almost two years to the day since a similar tragedy that also originated in Penticton and resulted in a massive search and rescue effort and just a few months after a float plane went down in the same area.
▼ YLW
NEXUS to ease airport waits Kathy Michaels STAFF REPORTER
Just flashing a NEXUS ID card at Kelowna’s airport will give flyers a chance to skip the queue and feel like VIPs. NEXUS checkpoints—a joint Canada Border Services Agency/ U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that expedites the border clearance process for preapproved, low-risk travellers—were launched at medium sized airports like
Kelowna’s this week. “This keeps YLW among Canada’s leading travel spots,” said Kelowna’s mayor Walter Gray. It’s a notable distinction for the airport, he explained, considering that Kelowna is the 22nd largest travel market, but the airport is the ninth (or 10th depending on the month) busiest in the country. Kelowna Lake Country MP Ron Cannan explained NEXUS is a benefit to frequent flyers, and
something he’s wished for in the past, when he’s been stalled in lines and watching others zip through at a rapid pace. While local flyers will be able to use the NEXUS checkpoint once they get the card, they won’t be able to get the card locally. Applications papers can be picked from the web, but it’s a rigorous process to get approval that includes a retina scan and being interviewed by CATSA members at a
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major airport. Also, the NEXUS card isn’t free. It costs $50 for a fiveyear period. These screening procedures will enable the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority to reduce wait times for travellers by using practices already established in Canada’s larger airports. For more information on CATSA, visit www. catsa.gc.ca. To apply for NEXUS, visit www. nexus.gc.ca.
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STAFF REPORTER
McCurdy Rd.
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Kathy Michaels
+ Leathead Rd. Hwy 33w