The aviation community must develop and mandate the use of appropriate child restraint systems to ensure that the youngest airline passengers are transported as safely as adults, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) says in recommendations accompanying its final report on an accident that killed a lap-held, 6-month-old baby. Eight adults survived.
The Perimeter Aviation Fairchild SA227-AC Metro III crashed as the flight crew attempted unsuccessfully to reject a landing in Sanikiluaq, Nunavut, on Dec. 22, 2012. The TSB said that the airplane “came in too high, too steep and too fast” during its approach and that it struck the ground 525 ft (160 m) beyond the end of the runway (see “Frustration, Fatigue … and Stress”).
All of the adults in the airplane were wearing seatbelts. Both pilots and one passenger were seriously injured, and five other passengers received minor injuries in the crash, which destroyed the airplane.
The unrestrain…
