NORTH BATTLEFORD, Sask. – Two men were killed after their float plane crashed moments after take-off in North Battleford, Sask..
The Piper PA-14 was airborne for merely seconds before it came down in grass just meters from the lake it had taken off from at Cameron McIntosh airport.
It happened at 10:20 Thursday morning.
The RCMP confirm Shane Buchanan, 40, and his father, Charles Buchanan, 63, from Whitehorse, Yukon, died.
Shane Buchanan owned and operated a big-game hunting company called Moon Lake Outfitters Ltd. Its website identified him as a float plane pilot.
“Witnesses that we have spoken to observed the plane falling down, not in a normal flying pattern, it wasn’t flying down it appeared to be falling down,” said RCMP Sergeant Kurt Grabinsky.
“We can’t speculate therefore as to the cause but merely state that the plane was rising as it was taking off and then fell, hit the ground, left a fairly large divot in the ground and within moments started on fire,”
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“The emergency response was very quick to attend to the location and put the fire out as soon as possible, the plane was entirely engulfed in flames when the fire services, RCMP and ambulance arrived and as soon as the plane was put out the investigation of course commenced,” added Grabinsky.
The wreckage was covered in blue tarp to preserve the evidence.
The plane was headed for Crawling Lake in Alberta before it was scheduled to continue on to its final destination in the Yukon.
Cameron McIntosh airport was shut down, roads in and out were closed and people urged to stay away.
RCMP has handed the investigation over to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The TSB is assembling a team in Winnipeg, investigators are expected to arrive at the scene Friday afternoon.
It says it will take a couple of days to assess the wreckage during which time the airport will remain closed.
“The runway is in direct line with the location of the crash, we would like to ensure safety of all and therefore the airport is not accepting planes at this time,” said Grabinsky.
With files from The Canadian Press
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