OTTAWA — The Defence Department released a preliminary report Wednesday in an investigation probing the death of an airman during a rescue mission in Nunavut.
Sgt. Janick Gilbert, a search-and-rescue technician, died Oct. 27 while he and two others were trying to rescue two men stranded in a boat in choppy waters.
The airmen had parachuted from a C-130 Hercules airplane to save the men in the Hecla Strait, 25 kilometres east of Igloolik. Gilbert, 34, died in icy waters before a rescue helicopter arrived to pick them up.
The flight-safety report said the tether designed to hold Gilbert’s one-man raft to his life-preserver had separated at the threads and the raft was missing when he was found.
The investigation into Gilbert’s death is continuing and focuses on his personal life support equipment and the regulations governing rescue activities.
Another report with conclusions, causes and recommendations will be published next fall.