The pilot of a single-engine Cessna emerged unscathed after a crash near a forest service road east of Hope Saturday.
Police were alerted to the activation of an emergency beacon around 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, by the GEOS International Emergency Response Coordination Center. Officers arrived to find the pilot of the small plane standing on the 8 Mile Creek Forest Service Road off of Highway 3, between Hope and Sunshine Valley.
“The pilot was walking, talking, walked away from the crash site,” said Staff Sergeant Karol Rehdner with the Hope RCMP, who added that the pilot was the only person involved in the crash. “The plane obviously is destroyed.”
The plane, a Cessna Skyhawk, lay a few metres off of the forest service road in a treed portion of a slope. Plexiglass, metal and fabric debris were scattered around the aircraft, which teetered on the downhill slope. Its nose and front portion were buckled in and the right side door was flung open.
One wing was broken clean off and lay ahead of the aircraft to its left – Rehdner confirmed the wing was ripped off after contact with a tree. The second wing was still partially attached to the body of the plane.
Rehdner said there is no indication there is criminality involved in the crash and RCMP are now finished their portion of the investigation.
“The person had put in a flight plan, there was nothing that was untoward,” he said. “There was zero concerns that we had that the pilot was under any influence of any intoxicants in any way, so there was no criminality attached to this.”
While Rehdner said weather may have been a factor, including issues with visibility, these are things that Canada’s agency responsible for investigating such occurences – the Transportation Safety Board – would look at.
The Hope Standard has requested further information from the Transportation Safety Board, this story will be updated when we hear back.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:emelie.peacock@hopestandard.com
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