A Whitehorse RCMP officer is facing charges of reckless operation of an aircraft.
On the afternoon of Jan. 11, police were called after a private single-engine aircraft hit a parked vehicle near Fish Lake. No one was in the vehicle and no one was injured. Both the aircraft and the vehicle were damaged.
The pilot was off-duty at the time of the incident. He was charged with dangerous operation of an aircraft under the criminal code and three counts of reckless operation of an aircraft under Canadian aviation regulations. He will appear in court on May 8.
He has been re-assigned to a desk job with the Whitehorse RCMP until the criminal investigation is complete, Const. Christine Grant said. The RCMP is also conducting an internal investigation into his off-duty behaviour under the RCMP Act.
A RCMP press release gave little information about the event. It did not say what type of vehicle or aircraft were involved, or whether the aircraft was taking off or landing when it struck the vehicle. But alcohol was not a factor, Grant said.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the Transport Canada Aviation Enforcement were notified of the incident and the RCMP investigated. The Alberta Serious Incident Response Team reviewed the RCMP investigation to make sure it was impartial. It found it was thorough and comprehensive. A Transport Canada Aviation Enforcement investigation into the incident is ongoing.