THUNDER BAY — Investigators have conducted a preliminary inspection of the flight controls of the aircraft that crashed and burned at Thunder Bay Airport on Monday night.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said Wednesday that the inspection found no pre-impact anomalies in the controls.
The TSB team also saw no evidence of bird ingestion in either of the aircraft's two turboprop engines.
A pilot for MAG Aerospace working on a firefighting contract for the Ontario government died in the crash that happened just moments after takeoff for Dryden where the plane was scheduled for routine maintenance.
The investigators found the plane in an inverted position on the runway, and destroyed by a post-impact fire.
A crane was brought in Wednesday afternoon to remove the wreckage of the Rockwell Aero Commander 690B.
The TSB will now release the accident site but will store the debris in a secure location for further examination.
Investigators will also continue to conduct witness interviews and gather information from company officials and air traffic control staff.