Grand Manan fatal plane crash GPS fails to offer clues

The GPS system on the air ambulance that crashed in Grand Manan, N.B.in August won't provide any clues into the cause of the fatal accident, preliminary investigations have revealed.

Pilot Klaus Sonnenberg and paramedicWilliam Mallock were killed when their Atlantic Charters flight crashed Aug. 16 near the airport on Grand Manan Island, in the Bay of Fundy. A registered nurse and a second pilot were injured, but survived.

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Doug McEwen, the principal Transportation Safety Board investigator on the crash, initially stated that the investigation team had hoped to getsome answers fromthe plane's GPS system, but that avenue has since turned into a dead end.

"The GPS that the aircraft was equipped with did not provide us any data. It functioned, but it did not record flight data, it only provided the last-known position," said McEwen.

He says the investigation hasn't turned up any glaring safety issues that would trigger immediate warnings to pilots and operators of similar equipment.

Propeller and engine inspections are scheduled in the next few weeks in Dartmouth, where the bulk of the plane's wreckage wastransported.

The TSBplans to conduct further interviews with the pilot and the nurse who survived the crash.

"We are going to go back to Grand Manan and to Moncton to speak additionally with the operator, as well as those with Transport Canada," said McEwen.

The TSB expects to provide an update sometime in the next month. The investigation isn't expected to be completed for a year or more.