UPDATED SATURDAY, JULY 7, 8:45 p.m.
Police have released hometowns of the victims of Saturday’s fatal plane crash at Marshall Field in Vernon.
Police say both victims are men. The pilot is 59, from Kelowna, and the passenger is from Port Moody, aged 54. Both men were killed when the Piper twin engine aircraft veered into Marshall Field in front of the VantageOne Soccer Centre shortly before 1 p.m., and burst into flames. No names have been released.
The Coroner and Transportation Safety Board will continue to investigate the crash.
UPDATED SATURDAY, JULY 7, 6:30 P.M.
Officials have still not released names or hometowns of the two victims of a Saturday mid-day plane crash in a Vernon field that, in the spring months, is full of youth soccer players, coaches and parents.
A twin engine plane took off from the Vernon Airport shortly before 1 p.m.
“For whatever reason, the plane then veered left into Marshall Field,” said Vernon RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk Saturday evening.
The plane clipped a tree, “skipped over a bench,” according to witnesses, and crashed and exploded into flames in front of the VantageOne Soccer Centre at Marshall Field.
Officials confirmed two occupants of the plane were killed.
Marshall Field, from mid-April to mid-June, is home to North Okanagan Youth Soccer Association games on Saturdays.
The RCMP and the Coroner continue to investigate the crash, and the Transportation Safety Board has been advised of the incident.
See Wednesday’s Morning Star for full details.
