It has been almost a year since Crystal Benwell lost her brother Howie in a tragic plane crash just outside Fort Smith.

She is still processing the loss. 

"Not a day goes by where I donSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™t think of him," she said. "I still send him messages on [Facebook] Messenger and Snapchat."

Howie, who had just turned 30 at the time of his passing, was among six victims of the Jan. 26, 2024 plane crash. The group was bound for Diavik Diamond Mine, around 300 km northeast of Yellowknife, where he worked. 

Outside of his job, Howie was a "a well known and respected musician," according to his sister. He "played guitar, bass, and sang songs of his own and others."

"He was a special guy who was always caring and kind and who was always thoughtful of others," she said. "He would help others and had many friends because of his positive energy and attitude.

"He was funny and knew how to cheer someone up," she added. "He was a person that lit up the room."

Crystal and Howie lost their mother in 2022. Crystal takes comfort in the belief that her brother and mother are now reunited. 

"HeSA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½™s now with mom," she said. "She was there to take him home right from that seat in the plane. Howie really missed her and would visit her grave every time he got back from work. It was almost daily. Howie was cremated and buried in her grave because of that."

Crystal has two daughters, aged 20 and 17. Howie was "always a great uncle" to the pair, she said, and she "always thought he'd have his own family."

"I also have signs that he's still with me and helps me with my girls," she added. "Howie loved his family and friends dearly, and it shows."

The plane Howie lost his life on was registered to Fort Smith-based airline Northwestern Air, which recently announced it is ceasing operations. Soon after takeoff, the plane collided with the ground and caught fire. Despite being only 500 metres from the runway, it took emergency personnel several hours to locate the crash site. 

This was due to several factors, according to Hugo Fontaine, a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB). 

"There were no witnesses to the accident, so initially no one knew that an aircraft had actually crashed," he said. "During the accident, the Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) was activated, and a signal was received by the Canadian Mission Control Centre. This ELT signal contained the coordinates of the aircraft's location, but due to the position of the satellites in orbit at the time the initial signal was received, the initial location was not very accurate. As a result, when the ground search began, it went to the wrong area. The density of the forest around the crash site, combined with the fact that visibility was poor at the time due to falling snow, also contributed to the delay in locating the aircraft. You had to be very close to the crash site to find it."

Nearly a year later, the TSB's investigation of the incident "remains in the report phase," according to Fontaine. When this phase of the investigation concludes, the TSB will release a report outlining its findings. However, it is impossible to say when the report will be ready "due to the complexity of the investigation, delays that may be encountered during the various related activities, and delays that may arise due to the need for investigative resources to support new reported occurrences and investigations."

"As this is an active investigation, the TSB cannot disclose any specific details related to this investigation report or to the confidential draft report comments received," Fontaine said. "We also cannot disclose the release date for the report, but I can assure you that we are fully committed to releasing it as soon as feasible."

As the investigation presses on, Crystal will continue to mourn her brother, though she does not expect she will ever move past the loss completely. 

"This last year has definitely had some difficult days, but it also had some days filled with gratitude for having Howie in our lives for the time we did have together," she said. "I let myself feel the hurt of his early, tragic death. It is the most difficult grief that I have ever experienced. I grieve many things about him that will not come to pass.

"I go easy on myself and make sure not to overdo things."

Crystal honours her brother's memory as often as she can.

In the spring, soon after his passing, she made dry meat and prepared him an offering plate. On Dec. 29, she made her latest visit to his grave with her father, Howard Sr., who "misses his little boy so much," and "is still having a tough time with grief."

On Jan. 4, Howie's birthday, she baked him a cake, and her daughters attended an Avril Lavigne concern in his honour. 

She also plans to get a tattoo in his honour, and continues to dye some of her hair purple SA¹ú¼ÊÓ°ÊÓ´«Ã½” his favourite colour. 

"We are always thinking of him," she said. "He's greatly missed."