On 29 March 2016, a

Mitsubishi MU-2 The Mitsubishi MU-2 is a Japanese high-wing, twin-engine turboprop aircraft with a pressurized cabin manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It made its maiden flight in September 1963 and was produced until 1986. It is one of postwar Japa ...

operated by Aero Teknic, a Canadian aircraft maintenance company, crashed on approach to

Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport (french: Aéroport des Îles-de-la-Madeleine) is located on House Harbour island in the Magdalen Islands, Quebec, Canada. Although it is almost at sea level, nearby land rises significantly to the south, prohibiting ...

, killing former Canadian politician

Jean Lapierre Jean-Charles Lapierre (May 7, 1956 – March 29, 2016) was a Canadian politician and television and radio broadcaster. After retiring from the government in 2007, he served as a political analyst in a variety of venues. He was Paul Martin's Qu ...

, several members of his family, and the two pilots. Lapierre was flying to his father's funeral with his wife and three siblings. While one man survived the crash, he died of a heart attack after being pulled from the wreckage.

Accident

Before departure, Jean Lapierre mentioned that he was concerned about flying during bad weather. The aircraft left

Montreal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport (french: Aéroport Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil), also called Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport, is located in the Saint-Hubert borough of Longueuil, Quebec. The airport is located east of Downtown ...

Saint-Hubert, Quebec Saint-Hubert ( , , ) is a Boroughs of Longueuil, borough in the city of Longueuil, Quebec, Longueuil, located in the Montérégie, Montérégie region of Quebec, Canada. It had been a separate city prior to January 1, 2002, when it along with sev ...

at 0931 Eastern Daylight Time and was headed to

, on Havre-aux-Maisons island in the

Magdalen Islands The Magdalen Islands (french: Îles de la Madeleine ) are a small archipelago in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with a land area of . While part of the Province of Quebec, the islands are in fact closer to the Maritime provinces and Newfoundland th ...

, also in Quebec. A little over two hours later (1230 Atlantic Daylight Time), the aircraft collided with terrain in

Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Magdalen Islands) is one of two municipalities forming the urban agglomeration of Magdalen Islands in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region and its population was 12,010 as of the 20 ...

, about short of the threshold of runway 07. At the time of the accident, there was light rain and mist. The visibility was with a cloud ceiling of . The air temperature was 0 °C with east-northeast winds at per hour, gusting to .

Investigation

The

Transportation Safety Board of Canada The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB, french: Bureau de la sécurité des transports du Canada, BST), officially the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board (french: link=no, Bureau canadien d'enquête sur les ...

(TSB) opened an investigation and sent a group of investigators to the site. Preliminary observations by the investigators indicated that the aircraft was in a slightly left-wing-low-and-nose-high attitude on impact. The wreckage was contained in a field 150 metres square about two kilometres southwest of Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport; the aircraft had hit the ground and slid for 91 metres before coming to a stop. Examination of the wreckage showed the engines were running until the impact with the ground. The MU-2 was not fitted with flight recorders (which are not required for

light aircraft A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross takeoff weight of or less.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 308. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. Light aircraft are used as utility aircraft co ...

), but a different type of onboard recording device was installed and it appeared to be intact. The wreckage was removed from the crash site and transported to the TSB's laboratory in Ottawa on April 6. The investigation has concluded. The

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and inci ...

sent a representative to the American-built plane's crash site.

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

also sent investigators to the site.

Victims

The victims include the two pilots, Captain Pascal Gosselin and co-pilot Fabrice Labourel. Jean Lapierre, his wife, his two brothers and one of his two sisters were also killed.

was a former Canadian Federal Member of Parliament and former

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

's cabinet. He was Paul Martin's

Quebec lieutenant In Canadian politics, a Quebec lieutenant is a Quebec politician who is selected by the party leader to be his or her main advisor and/or spokesperson on issues specific to Quebec. This is particularly the case when the leader is an anglophone, t ...

during Martin's time as Prime Minister, and a member of the Liberal party. Lapierre eventually became a well-known Quebec broadcaster and talk-show host. Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

, former Prime Minister Paul Martin, and Montreal Mayor

Denis Coderre Denis Coderre (born July 25, 1963) is a Canadian politician from Quebec. Coderre was the member of Parliament for the riding of Bourassa from 1997 until 2013, and was the Immigration minister from 2002 to 2003 and became the mayor of Mont ...

all expressed their sadness at Lapierre's death. The funeral of Lapierre and his wife was held on April 16 and was attended by the current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalen Islands Mitsubishi MU-2 crash Aviation accidents and incidents in 2016 Aviation accidents and incidents in Canada Magdalen Islands March 2016 events in North America 2016 in Quebec 2016 disasters in Canada