In what some crash victims’ families are calling an insensitive move, Canada’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities is holding a Committee meeting Tuesday, March 10th in Ottawa on the certification of aircraft in that country following the crash of a Boeing jet in Ethiopia exactly a year ago.
Hundreds of family members and friends who lost loved ones in the Boeing crash outside of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on March 10, 2019, have traveled to Africa to commemorate the loss of their loved ones, making it impossible for them to attend this hearing in Ottawa Tuesday afternoon.
“My wife is attending the memorial service in Ethiopia,” said Chris Moore of Toronto who lost his 24-year-old daughter Danielle in the crash. “But I stayed behind because of important business that needed the families’ attention here. My heart is with my family at the crash site, but I feel someone needs to represent the voices of those who lost the most.”
Chris Moore will be demonstrating outside of the hearing room before it meets from 3:30-5:30 p.m. (EDT) at 330 Sparks St., West Block, Room 225-A. Moore says his demonstrating is intended to raise “awareness to the public about the Boeing 737 Max Series of planes and the pitfalls of the current certification and validation process,” according to the permit he obtained for the demonstration.
Eighteen Canadians were killed in the March 10 crash. Moore’s permit goes on to say that “I will ask the public to let their MP [Member of Parliament] know that they want change and not to fly the Max unless it is fully independently certified/validated.” Moore says he will be attending the public hearing as well.
Those scheduled to testify include a number of officials testify about the aircraft certification process in Canada:
• Sylvain Alarie, Professional Engineer
• Gilles Primeau, Professional Engineer
Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board
• Kathleen Fox, Chair
• Natacha Van Themsche, Director, Air Investigations
• Jodi Diamant, Chief Engineer, Airworthiness & Certification, Pratt & Whitney Canada
Aerospace Industries Association of Canada
• Jim Quick, President and Chief Executive Officer
Bell Textron Canada Limited
• Michael Deer, Airworthiness Specialist
Longview Aviation Capital Corp.
• David Curtis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Viking Air Limited
• Steven Bruce, Director, Design and Certification, Viking Air Limited
• David Joseph Watson, Manager, Airworthiness and Air Safety, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited
Audio from the meeting that will be streamed live can be listened to here.
For further information, please call Clifford Law Offices’ Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).
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