2 of 3 victims in small plane crash near Smithers, B.C. identified

A plane crash near Smithers, B.C. Saturday killed three people, the BC Coroners Service confirmed Sunday.

Spokesperson Andy Watson said the three victims were the pilot and two passengers, while a third passenger was airlifted to hospital.

Four contractors who were conducting infrared scans of some of last year’s wildfires for the BC Wildfire Service were on board the plane, according to the Ministry of Forests.

Global News has learned the identities of two of the three victims. Lorne Borgal, a Vancouver man in his 60s, was the CEO and founder of Precision Vectors, a company that specializes in aerial mapping. Borgal had served as president and CEO of Whistler Mountain.

The other victim, 26-year-old Amir Sedghi, provided data analysis for Precision Vectors.

Another person was killed while a fourth person was airlifted to a hospital in Vancouver and is expected to recover, according to the ministry.

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) confirmed earlier Sunday that four people were aboard the Cessna 182 aircraft, which went down roughly 100 km northeast of the town in the Smithers Landing area.

The small plane is capable of carrying up to four passengers, the TSB confirmed.

RCMP said they were still gathering information and would be providing more details into the crash Sunday.

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TSB investigators are determining the cause of the crash and where the plane was heading to. It’s not known where the flight originated or what the purpose of the trip was.

Transport Canada is also investigating the incident.

The Victoria Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said they received an emergency notification from the plane’s transmitter at around 8:45 a.m. Saturday.

Crews were dispatched by plane and helicopter to locate the crash site, and began to arrive around noon.

Rescue workers entered the site in the afternoon, but would not provide details about what they found before turning the scene over to RCMP.