The pilot of a small airplane that crashed near the Ottawa airport on July 31 has died, according to an official with the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
The Grumman AA-5A aircraft crashed in a wooded area near Riverside Drive and Hunt Club Road just before 6 p.m. local time, senior investigator with the TSB Jean-Pierre Régnier told reporters the morning of Aug. 1.
The plane landed in a tree, about 30 feet off the ground, a spokesperson with the Ottawa Paramedic Service (OPS) told The Epoch Times.
“There were three occupants on the plane. So because the plane was up in the air, there were also live wires that were near the aircraft,” Marc-Antoine Deschamps, superintendent of public information for the OPS, said in an interview.
Deschamps said it was a challenge to get the occupants out of the plane, and that it took “a tremendous effort by all emergency services.”
The two passengers, a man and woman, were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries, he said.
Régnier said the plane had taken off from Gatineau airport around 5:35 p.m. local time for a sightseeing flight around the area. He said it was a privately registered aircraft based out of an airport in Gatineau, Que.
“At some point in the flight, the pilot had engine problems. The engine sputtered and failed. The right engine cowling of the aircraft came open and there was a substantial loss of engine oil,” he said.
The pilot declared an emergency with the Ottawa air traffic control tower, Régnier said. The plane was given clearance to land at the airport, but it lost altitude and collided with the terrain about 970 metres (3,100 feet) from the runway, he said.
The pilot was declared deceased at the scene, Régnier said.
Ottawa police, fire, and ambulance services also responded to the scene, he added.
TSB will review aircraft data, pilot information, and audio or radar tapes as part of the preliminary investigation, according to Régnier. A flatbed and crane were used to recover the aircraft, he said.
A spokesperson for the TSB told The Epoch Times in an email they were gathering information and “assessing the circumstances” to determine if a full investigation will be conducted.
A social media post by the Ottawa International Airport said they were saddened to learn the pilot did not survive.
“We extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones, and our gratitude to all the first responders, including our own airport fire services, for the care and collaboration they displayed in responding to this incident,” the Aug. 1 post said.
