The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says an unstable approach to landing was the key factor in a plane crash that killed former federal cabinet minister Jean Lapierre and several members of his family.
READ MORE: Plane carrying Jean Lapierre, family was flying too fast when it crashed
The agency released its investigative report this morning into the March 2016 accident, which claimed the lives of seven people – the pilot and co-pilot as well as Lapierre, his wife and three of his siblings.
They were aboard the Mitsubishi MU-2B-60 aircraft that slammed into the ground as it approached the airport in Iles-de-la-Madeleine.
The family was en route to attend the funeral of Lapierre’s father, who’d died a day earlier.
READ MORE: Former cabinet minister Jean Lapierre laid to rest in Quebec
In an interim report by the board last summer, investigators found the plane was travelling faster and at a higher altitude than recommended, but the aircraft appeared mechanically sound and the pilot was qualified for the flight.
WATCH: Plane crash that killed MP Jean Lapierre caused by an unstable landing.
Lapierre was a longtime Liberal and Bloc Quebecois MP who quit federal politics in 1992 but returned after Paul Martin became Liberal leader in late 2003. He served as transport minister between 2004 and 2006.
Lapierre was 59 at the time of his death and worked as a political commentator after resigning from politics in 2007.
— with files from Global News