Both lawsuits claim negligence against each of the defendants alone or together and claim unspecified damages.
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Two more lawsuits have been filed seeking damages following a 2024 crash between a Harbour Air seaplane and a recreational boat in Vancouver Harbour.
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In one, two seniors on the boat, both women from Vancouver, are suing Harbour Air for injuries they say are serious and permanent, according to the lawsuit filed in B.C. Supreme Court, days before the two-year window for filing closed.
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In the other, Harbour Air is suing the boat’s owner and operator, Wei Qi Zhang, for the salvage and repair of the Beaver propeller aircraft that was damaged by the crash on June 8, 2024.
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The two women, Li Wei Yu, 69, and Fan Li, 70, or their insurance companies, are also suing Zhang, who is Li’s son and lives in B.C., according to the claim.
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Yu, Li and Harbour Air also included as defendants Nav Canada, which directs flights in the harbour, and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, which has responsibility for people and vessels in the harbour.
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Both lawsuits claim negligence against each of the defendants alone or together and claim unspecified damages.
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Yu and Li were among eight family members aboard the pleasure craft that day when “Zhang steered the boat into an area where seaplanes frequently take off and land” when the Harbour Air Beaver was taxiing to take off on a sightseeing tour, according to their claim.
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“During takeoff, the aircraft collided with the left side of the boat, striking Li Wei and Fan,” who were sitting on the left side where the plane hit the boat, it said.
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“As a result, Li Wei and Fan suffered life-altering injuries,” it said.
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The lawsuit alleges the plane’s pilot had been warned by radio of the boat’s location but did not stop.
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They allege negligence against Zhang because he should have “known that his vessel was traversing a takeoff and landing area for seaplanes,” it said.
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And the plane’s pilot should have known he was “taking off in a busy port with lots of boat traffic,” according to the claim.
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The pilot also should have taken additional care because his visibility was impeded because of the large radial engine in front of the cockpit and the plane’s nose-up attitude, it said.
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“The accident occurred because Harbour Air and the flight crew did not meet the required standard of care,” it said.
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The port authority was negligent because there were no markers around the plane landing and take off areas in the harbour, and Nav Canada was negligent because its employee gave the plane takeoff clearance, it claimed.
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Both women required surgery and a long recovery from injuries to head, brain, shoulder, neck and forearm and cuts and bruises in Yu’s case, and face, rib, lung, pelvis and spleen in Li’s case, it said.
