Pilot survives crash landing near Calgary

CALGARY- Emergency crews from several fire departments rushed to the scene of a plane crash just outside of Calgary on Wednesday afternoon.

The twin-engine Cessna went down in an area northeast of Cochrane, around 4 p.m. It landed in an area near Lochend Road and Township Road 262.

Officials initially said three people were on board when the plane crash landed. However, they later realized only one pilot was on-board, and the other people they came across at the scene were bystanders who rushed to help.

The 37-year-old pilot was not injured, but has been taken to hospital by EMS as a precaution.

Crews from Calgary, Rocky View County and Cochrane responded to the scene.

“It made a hard bank to the left, as though it was going to turn sharply back on its flight path… and disappeared behind a group of trees,” a witness who lives near the scene told Global News. “Later, I went up on the deck and could see that the plane had indeed crashed.”

Officials say one engine failed, and the pilot was in communication with the Springbank Airport but did not make it to the tarmac. The pilot managed to pull off a ‘belly landing’ and get out of the plane by himself. Both wings and the tail were broken off.

“He did an excellent job of putting the plane down,” says Cpl. Gary Fedrau from the RCMP. “It could have been a lot worse.”

Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board have been called in.

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