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4 dead in northern Ontario plane crash

By: Staff Writer

Posted: 01/10/2012 11:54 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies) | Last Modified: 01/10/2012 2:35 PM | Updates

Transportation Safety Board of Canada's Peter Hildebrand prepares to speak to reporters at news conference in Winnipeg on twin-engine Piper PA 31 that crashed into North Spirit Lake, Ont., Tuesday. (JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

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The plane that crashed was a Piper PA-31 Navajo, similar to this one. (POSTMEDIA)

Four people died today when a small plane flying from Winnipeg crashed at an isolated First Nation in northern Ontario.

Officials with the Transportation Safety Board say the twin-engine Piper PA 31 crashed into North Spirit Lake at about 10 a.m. while attempting to land at the airstrip at North Spirit Lake First Nation.

Five people were on board the plane, including the pilot.

The TSB confirmed there is one male survivor of the crash.

"We will be following up with the survivor," the TSB's Peter Hildebrand said. "We wish him well in his recovery."

Hildebrand said there is no control tower at the 1,066-metre-long airstrip, adding landings are left up to the pilot's discretion.

Hildebrand said the plane, built in 1977, was not required to have a voice or flight recorder.

Local resident Cameron Rae said the crash occurred about half a kilometre from airstrip, near the home of airport foreman Joe Keesick. Members of Keesick's family were first on the scene and tried to put out the flames, Rae said.

"They were doing whatever they could to save those people," he said.

Local resident Martha Campbell died in the crash, along with Ben Van Hoek and Colette Eisinger, two members of Aboriginal Strategies Inc., a Winnipeg-based native consulting firm, Rae said.

An ASI spokesman confirmed that some of its employees were passengers but refused to say how many were aboard or comment on their condition. ASI is owned by Tataskweyak Cree Nation, of Split Lake, Man. The firm has offices in downtown Winnipeg and in Thunder Bay.

People on the small, closely-knit reserve are devastated, Rae said. The reserve is located about 300 kilometres north of Kenora and is accessible only by air or by winter road. Of the band's 486 members, 414 live on the reserve.

"It’s very sad… very sad," said Rae. "We’ve known (the victims) for a long, long time."

Eric Feldman, principal of the Victoria Linklater School on the reserve, said the community is coping with the tragedy with almost no resources on the ground.

"There is no emergency equipment whatsoever here," he said. "There’s no firefighting equipment, not even an ambulance. They were putting the fire out with snow and they had to drag people out of it. The one survivor they took to the nursing station."

The weather at the time the crash occurred was a "blinding snowstorm… a whiteout," said Rae.

Feldman said he was surprised the plane attempted to fly into the area -- let alone land -- given the poor weather conditions. "It was horrible. You couldn’t see in front of your face," he said, adding it had been snowing for several hours before the crash.

Officials from the Transportation Safety Board are headed to the community to investigate.

The flight Tuesday appears to be the first plane to crash at the remote community. One resident said local First Nation members could not recall another crash and at least one private website, the Aviation Safety Network, which records airline accidents, has no information in its database about earlier crashes at the local airport.

With files from Postmedia News

The TSB confirmed there is one male survivor of the crash.

"We will be following up with the survivor," Hildebrand said.

"We wish him well in his recovery."

Hildebrand said there is no control tower at the 3,500 foot long airstrip, adding landings are left up to the pilot's discretion.

Hildebrand said the plane, built in 1977, was not required to have a voice or flight recorder.

History

Updated on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 12:28 PM CST: Adds that there have been reports of fatalities, yet to be confirmed

12:52 PM: Confirms fatalities.

1:04 PM: Updated

1:10 PM: Adds information on ASI employees.

1:45 PM: Adds information from local resident.

1:55 PM: Adds names of some victims.

2:20 PM: Updated.

2:35 PM: Updates with info on airstrip

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