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Mit den Dingern ist halt nicht zu spaßen 
Wake turbulence caused '09 crash
Twin-engined Piper lost control while flying below Airbus flight path, says report
By John Colebourn, The Province May 29, 2011
Wake turbulence caused the deadly twin-engined Piper Chieftain airplane crash in Richmond two years ago, according to the federal Transportation Safety Board.
The airplane crash on July 9, 2009, in a Richmond industrial area claimed the life of captain Jeremy Ryan Sunderland, 28, and first officer Mathew Douglas Pedersen, 23.In a report released Friday, investigators note the air- cargo plane was arriving at 10 p.m. in darkness at Vancouver International Airport, using visual flight rules, and was 1.5 nautical miles behind and 700 feet below the flight path of an Air Canada Airbus A321.
Despite the distance, the report concludes the turbulence by the much larger plane caused "an upset and loss of control at an altitude that precluded recovery."
Investigators also warned that with busy airports, "the waketurbulence separation standards may be inadequate."The report also points out that the pilot of the plane worked part time with Canadian Air Charters as well as a selfemployed contractor. and that fatigue may have been a factor in the tragedy.
The two men in the twinengined plane were on a charter run for Canadian Blood Services and were returning from Victoria.
On their approach, air-traffic control put out a turbulence warning but did not advise the pilot of a safe distance to be from the Airbus.
The safe distance set by flight rules for a light aircraft behind a medium-weight airplane is four nautical miles, or 1,000 feet below.Pedersen was a Port Coquitlam native who attended Riverside Secondary School.
He graduated from University of the Fraser Valley and its affiliated Coastal Pacific Aviation program before landing a job with Canadian Air ChartersSunderland, a Tsawwassen native, graduated from South Delta Secondary and went to flight school in Victoria before joining Canadian Air Charters.
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