Transportation Safety Board sends investigators to assess B.C. seaplane crash

 The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending a team of investigators to the scene of a seaplane accident that killed four people and left five injured on a remote, uninhabited island in British Columbia.
The TSB says investigators will gather information and assess the crash, which took place on Addenbroke Island around 100 kilometres off the northern tip of Vancouver Island on Friday.

Lt. Chelsea Dubeau with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria says they received word at around 11 a.m. on Friday that a Cessna 208 float plane operated by Seair Seaplanes had crashed.

The centre says the chartered plane had nine people aboard and was headed to neighbouring Calvert Island, the location of the Hakai Land and Sea fishing lodge and a Hakai Institute research station.

Hakai Institute founder Eric Peterson says the flight was not bound for the research station and no one affiliated with the institute was on the plane.

According to weather data from Hakai's Calvert Island station, there was intense rain between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. on Friday, around the time the crash was reported, though it is unclear if weather was a factor in the crash.

Cpl. Chris Manseau of the B.C. RCMP says the crash is not being considered criminal in nature but RCMP are assisting Transport Canada and the Coroners Service as needed.