Crash of small jet in Kelowna reminder of need for black boxes: TSB

KELOWNA, B.C. – The Transportation Safety Board is calling again for flight data or cockpit voice recorders to be carried on smaller passenger planes after a jet crash near Kelowna last week that killed four people including former Alberta premier Jim Prentice.

Chairwoman Kathy Fox says the board has been recommending the recorders on small planes since 1991.

Without the recorders, the board says the investigation into the crash last Thursday, Oct. 13, near Kelowna of the Cessna Citation jet will be "particularly challenging."

The plane involved in the crash was not equipped with voice or data recorders, nor was it required to carry the devices.

Only multi-engine, turbine-powered commercial aircraft flown by two pilots and carrying six or more passengers are required to carry a cockpit voice recorder.

Transport Canada said Sunday that on small aircraft, the decision to install flight recorder equipment is at the pilot's discretion because there generally aren't any cockpit conversations to record and the plane's air traffic transmissions are recorded by NAV Canada.