Death of man struck by plane not deliberate, preventable
Posted January 10, 2012 1:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
REGINA – A judge says the death of a man who was struck by the wing of an airplane in the Northwest Territories wasn’t deliberate, but it was preventable.
Court was told pilot Parker Butterfield and his friend William Bleach both worked for North-Wright Airways in the Northwest Territories.
They were on a tarmac, with Bleach taking photos as Butterfield flew low to the ground.
However, a gust of wind caught the single-engine plane and it suddenly lost altitude, striking Bleach with a wing.
The southern Ontario man was taken to an Edmonton hospital where he died a few days later.
Yesterday in Regina, Butterfield pleaded guilty to dangerous operation of an aircraft causing death and was sentenced to nine months.
Judge Jeff Kalmakoff said Bleach was a willing participant in the photo op and notes that Butterfield tried to help save his friend on the tarmac.
But he said the stunt was unnecessary and dangerous.
