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Fundraisers started for those killed in Little Grand Rapids plane crash

Jonathan Friesen, 39, was the pilot of the flight that crashed near Little Grand Rapids. Blue Water Aviation

After three people were killed in a northern Manitoba plane crash, people are stepping up to help some of the victims’ families.

Two GoFundMe campaigns have been started for two out of the three men who were found dead after a plane went down last month in Little Grand Rapids.

RCMP said witnesses told officers a plane clipped a tree before going into the water at Family Lake.

Blue Water Aviation confirmed it is one of their planes and that their pilot 39-year-old Jonathan Friesen was flying the private charter.

He was described as a “very experienced” pilot, with more than 9,000 flight hours.

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Friesen leaves behind a wife and two children.

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So far a GoFundMe for his family set up on Nov. 1 has raised more than its goal of $1,000. The campaign was set up by someone affiliated with Boy Scouts of America Northern Tier, which flies with Blue Water Aviation on canoe trips, according to the company’s website.

The two passengers in the plane, Devlin Stanley and Dave Schalk, were also killed.

The GoFundMe for Stanley says the two men were best friends and that they were up in the community to work on a construction project.

The fundraiser says the money raised as part of a $10,000 goal will help Stanley’s partner, who has shared the GoFundMe on her Facebook page, take time off work and pay for the funeral bills.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada continues to investigate the crash.

Global News has reached out to the GoFundMe organizers for comment but has yet to receive a response.

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