Air Saguenay is shutting down its operations and selling its fleet, following a tragic crash in remote Labrador in July.
President Jean Tremblay confirms for VOCM News that the company is putting its fleet up for sale after 40 years, following recently-announced civil suits from the victims’ families.
The small float plane—a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver—crashed in Mistastin Lake on July 15, claiming the lives of seven men including two guides from Newfoundland and Labrador.
The plane was en route to a remote fishing camp in Labrador, when it was reported overdue.
(Photo courtesy RCMP, Transportation Safety Board.)
Initial surveillance flights located the fuselage of the plane, with its wings, floats, and engine missing. However, it later sank, and crews were unable to locate the plane in the rough conditions of Mistastin Lake.
Four bodies were recovered following extensive searches, before crews had to call off the search.
Jean Tremblay says the company has been in difficult straits for the past 10 years. In light of the tragic crash, rising insurance rates, and the end of the caribou hunt in northern Quebec in 2017, he says it is impossible for the company to continue operating.
Tremblay says it’s a sad day for the Air Saguenay team—which consists of about 60 people.
