Mystery behind fatal plane crash poses particular challenge for investigators
VANCOUVER — Federal investigators have an especially challenging mystery on their hands piecing together what caused a small jet to crash last Thursday shortly after taking off from a British Columbia airport, sending out no distress call.
The Cessna Citation carrying former Alberta premier Jim Prentice crashed outside Kelowna, B.C., killing all four people on board. The aircraft wasn’t carrying an in-flight data or cockpit voice recorder, which are commonly referred to collectively as a black box.
The absence of recording devices has put aviation analysts at a disadvantage when it comes to explaining what was behind the incident, said Bill Yearwood, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board.
“It’s going to be very difficult,” Yearwood said.