3 killed in British Columbia plane crash
A small plane en route from Salem, Oregon, to Springbank, Alberta crashes in British Columbia's interior, killing all three people on board.
A small plane en route from Salem, Oregon, to Springbank, Alberta crashed in British Columbia's interior, killing all three people on board, authorities said.
A search and rescue official in Victoria said the pilot of the Piper Malibu radioed air traffic control on Friday evening reporting engine failure at 6,400 metres.
Captain Arron Twa said radio contact was lost when the plane went below 3,962 metres, but officials later picked up an emergency locator signal.
He said the plane tried to make it to the town of Fairmont in southeast British Columbia, but crashed about 10 kilometres east of Invermere.
Search-and-rescue aircraft reached the scene about 1 1/2 hours after the initial distress call was received, Twa said. A helicopter lowered a rescue team to the crash site, where they found three bodies, he said.
The identities of those on board was not immediately released.
Meanwhile, military and civilian aircraft continued the search in British Columbia for a single-engine plane that has been missing since Tuesday, Twa said. The only person on the plane was the pilot, Ronald Boychuck, 61, of Spruce View, Alberta, Twas said.
Twa said the plane went missing between Revelstoke and Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island.