Pilot of Carson Air plane that crashed near Vancouver was drunk

KELOWNA – The pilot for Kelowna-based Carson Air that crashed in the North Shore Mountains in April was severely intoxicated, according to toxicology results released by the B.C. Coroners Service Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Robert Brandt, 34 was the captain of a Metro II cargo plane that left Vancouver International Airport in the early morning of April 13, 2015. The plane disappeared shortly after just north of Vancouver.

B.C. Coroner's Services spokesperson Barb McLintock says in a release the post-mortem found Brandt had a blood alcohol level of .24 per cent, three times the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle.

Also on board at the time was first officer Kevin Wang, 32, who was found dead at the scene. Toxicology testing showed no drugs or alcohol were consumed by Wang.

The incident remains under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board and the B.C. Coroners Service.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Adam Proskiw at aproskiw@infonews.ca or call 250-718-0428. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.