Family of man who died after going overboard on pilot boat calls for accountability

Building on momentumfrom the National Day of Mourning, the family of a man who drowned in 2022 after falling overboard is pushing for more answers and accountability.

The fog and drizzle of a greySt. John's Monday morning served as the backdropfor the family of Terry Roberts,holding a news conference on the harbourfront in their call for more investigation into the September 2022workplace incident that led to Roberts' death.

"We're here to make a statement. We want change," Christa Roberts, Terry's widow, told CBC News on Monday the day after the National Day of Mourning at the waterfront,near apilot boat tied to the wharf.

"It has been hell [for]19 months. The only real support that I have gotten is through the community. My mom and dad have been amazing."

Roberts, 61, went overboard while working on a pilot boat just outside the narrows of St. John's harbour. A Transportation Safety Boardreport released Friday found several factorscould have been preventedand concluded the man's death could have been avoided. Among the findingswere a broken floatation device and an understaffed crew.

Roberts is remembered as a loving, caring husband and son-in-law and as an active athlete and supporter of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Almost two years after his death, the familyhas someanswers.Now they want someaccountability.

WATCH | This widow says she is heartbroken and enraged over her husband's death:

Her husband fell overboard and drowned. Shes vowing to fight for change

5 months ago

Duration 0:50

Terry Roberts drowned after falling into the Atlantic Ocean while working on a pilot boat just outside St. Johns harbour in September 2022. With a recent report concluding his death could have been prevented, his widow, Christa Roberts, promises shell fight to ensure no one else dies like the love of her life did.

The TSB report zeroed in on the fact that the personal flotation device Roberts was wearing didn't automatically inflate when he hit the water and the manual inflation control was broken. TSBinvestigators also foundthe manufacturer of the PFDrecommended it be serviced twice per year butthe pilot company had serviced it only once annually.

The boat was owned by the Atlantic Pilotage Authority, with operations contracted to Canship Ugland.

The family also wants to knowwhy another crew memberwasn't added to the pilot boat despite the crew before Roberts's death flagging safety concerns with overboard scenarios.

Minimum staffing levels for pilot boats are determined by Transport Canada and, at the time, there was no requirement to consideroverboard scenarios when setting the minimum crew.

That meant only two people Roberts included were on board when Roberts went overboard. The reportrevealed thecrewhad flagged that problem in the APA's last inspection. The crew hadfelt it was difficult to operate both the boat and the person-overboard device with their level of staffing, but the report said Canshipdidn't receive thoseconcerns.

In late 2022, Transport Canada updated its regulations to require companies to submit plans for a person overboard. The APA changed its procedures in the days following Roberts's death to add another person to each boat.

John Connors, Roberts's father-in-law is spearheading the push for action.

The family has a meeting set up with Transport Canada on Tuesday. Connors has a long list of items to present.

"Somebody got to be held responsible for this death. We don't want this happening to nobody else," he said.

"There's no money behind safety, to a point. I know people gotto do their jobs, companies gotto make money, but safety comes first. Safety is job one. I can't make it any simpler than that."

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