Four days after the wreckage of a plane that had been missing for 10 months was found near Rogers Pass, B.C., the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was sending a team to investigate what happened to the aircraft.
A plane from Alberta carrying an Edmonton-area couple was located on Monday afternoon in the rugged wilderness of B.C.’s southern interior.
RCMP said the plane was found on Monday, when a B.C. Ambulance Service helicopter crew spotted the wreckage near Revelstoke.
Watch below: Aerial footage of the wreckage found near Revelstoke.
The plane, missing since November 2017, matched the description of the missing white-and-burgundy plane, a Mooney M20D, and also had the matching tail marker, C-FESN.
RCMP said the wreckage was located east of Revelstoke in Glacier National Park. The BCAS helicopter was returning to Kamloops from Field when it spotted the aircraft.
Ryan MacLeod, who was on the flight that spotted the wrecked plane, said it was a one-in-a-million discovery.
“It was such a fluke to actually spot this,” he said.
“When we were flying to the Rogers Pass yesterday, we were about a thousand feet up above the Trans-Canada Highway and we just got a split-second glimpse of something down below us through the trees,” he said.
WATCH: Wreckage of missing plane spotted near Revelstoke
“It just simply stood out as something that doesn’t belong. When we spotted it, we yelled, ‘There’s something back there, turn back, turn back.’ The pilots were able to manoeuvre around, get us back to the area. I’m surprised how exceptionally difficult it was for us to actually find it a second time.”
Macleod said he and his colleagues have been hoping to spot the plane since it went missing last November.
“I know it’s been on everybody’s mind, so it’s pretty satisfying,” he said.
“It’s satisfying to know that we were just in the right place at the right time and our eyes were just pointed in the right direction at the right time. It was very, very fortunate to get a glimpse of it.”
On social media, Tammy Neron said “We got word this morning the plane has been found! Cannot thank B.C. Ambulance enough, as they were flying through Rogers Pass to Golden yesterday, Sept, 10, they spotted it. My birthday wish yesterday came true!!!
“RCMP, SAR, BC Transport and the coroners are going out today. Our families cannot thank each and every one of you enough for embracing us during what’s been the hardest 10 months of our lives!”
READ MORE: Family of missing Alberta couple continues search after plane vanishes in B.C.
The missing, four-passenger plane left Penticton, B.C., on Nov. 25, 2017, and was bound for Edmonton. On board were Dominic Neron, 28, from Spruce Grove, Alta., and his girlfriend Ashley Bourgeault — a 31-year-old mother of three — from Edmonton.
In late November, the pair had flown to Penticton to visit family and do some Christmas shopping. Their plane disappeared near Revelstoke on the way home.
A nine-day search took place, but neither the plane nor the occupants were found.
READ MORE: 3 months after B.C. plane crash, family of Alberta couple isn’t giving up hope
On Wednesday, RCMP confirmed the plane spotted Monday by a passing air ambulance is the one that went missing last Nov. 25, and remains have been located.
The BC Coroners Service will now determine if the remains are those of Neron and Bourgeault.
Police noted that the families have been very active in the area, using drones, seeking tips from the public and searching various areas.
Resources involved in investigation include the RCMP Integrated Forensic Identification Services, Revelstoke Search and Rescue, Transportation Canada, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and the B.C. Coroners Service.
Watch below: The search for a plane carrying two Edmononton-area residents is over. Revelstoke RCMP say they’ve located what they believe is the wreckage of the plane that disappeared almost a year ago. Quinn Ohler has the details.
— With files from Jon Azpiri and Gord Macdonald
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