The owner of a floatplane that ended up partially sunk in Sechelt Inlet on Dec. 21 says it will need a three- to four-month rebuild, despite suffering little visible damage.
Grant Starrs said the 1948 vintage DeHavilland Beaver was a victim of an extremely high tide in the Inlet that lifted the dock it was moored to over the pilings. That caused the plane to tip sideways, putting the engine compartment and part of the cockpit under water.
Starrs told Coast Reporter that “once salt water gets in there it can do a lot of damage.”
According to dh-2.com, a website for enthusiasts of the iconic aviation workhorse, C-FOCN has a long history on the B.C. coast. Past owners include Hyack Air, Harbour Air, and Tofino Air.
The incident was not serious enough to warrant involvement from the Transportation Safety Board, and Starrs said it’s not an unusual accident for float planes in the area, noting that it happened to a couple of planes on Vancouver Island around the same time.
