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Fr i d ay, D e ce m b e r 12, 2 014 ¡ mapleridgenews.com ¡ est. 1978 ¡ (office) 604-467-1122 ¡ (del ive r y) 6 04 - 46 6- 6 39 7
Mayors want to increase PST 0.5% bump would pay for transit improvements By Phil M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgnews.com
Metro Vancouver mayors have opted for a half-per-cent hike in the provincial sales tax to pay for more transit – over the protest of Maple Ridge Mayor Nicole Read, who voted against it. “With all the problems with TransLink, I don’t believe they’re going to spend the money properly,� Read said Thursday. Along with West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith and Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, she voted against the proposal to raise the PST in Metro Vancouver from seven to 7.5 per cent. See Mayors, 5
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Big spill B.C. Hydro staff Bob Peever and Ken McComber stand on the bridge overlooking one of the largest spills from the Ruskin Dam in 20 years on Thursday. Story, page 3
Pilot recovering after crash landing Engine died moments after take-off at Pitt airport By Phil M elnyc h u k pmelnychuk@mapleridgenews.com
The Transportation Safety Board has found that mechanical problems caused Tuesday’s emergency landing of a Cessna 152 at Pitt Meadows Regional Airport and won’t pursue the incident any further. Tuesday, just before 3 p.m., the 23-yearold pilot took off southbound on Runway 18, headed to the Langley airport, when
the engine developed fuel problems. The pilot pulled a 180-degree turn, trying to make it back to the runway, which goes north-south, but only made it to the taxiway, metres from the Fraser River. The plane crashed on landing and bystanders jumped to rescue the pilot, who remains in hospital. Jeep Mandair, of Pacific Aviation Academy at the airport, said the plane belongs to his company and the pilot was a former student trying to gain flying time in order to get his commercial licence. The plane, though, was rented as a private category plane to licenced pilots and
was not used for providing lessons. “It started to choke and he immediately decided to turn left and make a forced landing. He barely made the pavement,� Mandair said. “If he wasn’t a good pilot, he probably would have gone into the river.� Mandair talked to safety board investigators and said while the plane was warmed up for several minutes and water had been drained and the engine was running smoothly, some water could have remained at the bottom of the carburetor.
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See Plane, 16
Colleen Flanagan/THE NEWS
Investigators determined mechanical failures caused a Cessna 152 to crash at Pitt Meadows airport on Tuesday.
DEBBIE SHEPPARD
604-312-3705
debbiesheppard.com
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