The man piloting a cargo plane that crashed on the North Shore mountains earlier this year was intoxicated, the BC Coroners Service revealed Wednesday.
Captain Robert Brandt, 34, and first officer Kevin Wang, 32, both died on impact after the aircraft plummeted into a heavily wooded area on Coliseum Mountain the morning of April 13.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board, but the Coroners Service said post-mortem toxicology tests show Brandt was drunk, with a blood alcohol content of 0.24 per cent.
That's three times the legal limit for drivers, but pilots are held to stricter standards. Under Canadian aviation regulations, crew members are barred from being under the influence of alcohol, or even drinking within eight hours of the start of a flight.
No other substances were detected, and no drugs or alcohol were found in Wang’s system.
The pilot and first officer, who both worked for Kelowna-based Carson Air, took off from Vancouver International Airport just minutes before the crash.
The TSB said part of its investigation involved trying to determine whether anyone at the airport knew Brandt was drunk.
“There is no indication from anyone else that there was any suspicion of impairment before the aircraft departed,” said Bill Yearwood, TSB regional manager of aviation.
Brandt and Wang, who were both residents of the Vancouver area, were the only people on board the plane.
After the toxicology results were released, Carson Air issued a statement calling the news “troubling.”
“It is contrary to our policies and practices,” said Kevin Hillier, vice-president of operations. “[Carson Air] has operated for over 25 years with an exemplary safety record.”
Yearwood said the TSB is still months away from issuing a final report into the crash.
With files from CTV Vancouver’s Lisa Rossington
