3 people killed in Gabriola Island crash, officials confirm

The small airplane that crashed on B.C.’s Gabriola Island on Tuesday killed three people, officials confirmed Friday.

The BC Coroners Service said two of the victims were male, and one was female.

The fatalities were also reported in Nav Canada’s Friday CADORS report, which confirmed several other details about the tragedy.

According to the report, the aircraft was on approach to Nanaimo Airport when it “reported an equipment issue and deviated from the approach prior to dropping off radar.”

The report also confirmed the aircraft as a 1982 Piper PA-60-602P.

Transport Canada collects information on aircraft incidents through Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS), and notes that the information should be considered preliminary and subject to change.

Global News has previously reported that three people were aboard the aircraft, and that pilot Alex Bahlsen, a Mill Bay resident, had radioed that instruments had failed in the moments before the crash.

Family friends told Global News that Bahlsen and two passengers were en route from Cabo San Lucas to Nanaimo on the day of the crash. The plane had departed from Eastern Sierra Regional Airport in Bishop, Calif., on its most recent leg.

2:00 Pilot in Gabriola plane crash identified

The BC Coroners Service and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) are each independently investigating the crash.

The TSB spent Wednesday and Thursday at the crash site, and says that the twin-engine aircraft “was extensively broken up due to high impact forces.”

Neither of the other parties on board has been publicly identified.

Friends told Global News that Bahlsen’s wife, who is also a pilot, was returning to Vancouver Island from Mexico on Thursday.

Bahlsen is remembered as a “pilot’s pilot” with significant flying experience, including aerobatic and helicopter piloting.

He also volunteered his time and aircraft for animal rescue charities.