TSB not investigating Gananoque skydiving fatality

The investigation into the skydiving fatality at Skydive Gan this past weekend now lays in the hands of the Office of the Chief Coroner, as all other agencies are not investigating.

The tragic incident, which occurred on Saturday, Jul. 20, 2019, resulted in the death of Lynn MacKenzie, 63, of Ennismore, Ont., and serious injuries for the instructor on the jump, Dean MacDonald, 51, of Alexandria, Ont.

The Leeds County detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) announced on Monday, Jul. 22, 2019 that they had concluded their investigation and determined there was no criminal wrongdoing involved. The case was subsequently turned over to the Office of the Chief Coroner.

While the Transportation Service Board (TSB) was notified, they are not investigating the incident, according to Dean Campbell, Media Relations Specialist/Communications for the TSB.

“While tragic, this event is outside the mandate for the TSB and, as such, we are not involved in any way,” Campbell said.

“The mandate of the Transportation Safety Board is to advance transportation safety, and the focus is on the means of transportation, in this case, the airplane,” Campbell explained. “So if there had been a problem with the airplane that led to this event, then we would be involved. As that’s not the case, then it’s outside our mandate.”

Kingstonist has learned that equipment malfunctions took place during the jump, however, Skydive Gan has only responded to requests for information to say they will be sending out a release on the matter in the coming days. We will continue to monitor this investigation and provide updates when information becomes available.