Beaver crash

[Guest frozinorth]

Any body have any news on this one?

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a small plane to crash near Penticton shortly after takeoff en route to Calgary, claiming the lives of three people and a dog.

Penticton RCMP Const. Blake Walkinshaw said the privately owned plane left Vancouver Island and stopped for fuel in Penticton Friday afternoon.

http://www.canoe.ca/CalgaryNews/cs.cs-08-31-0014.html

[Guest flyersclub]

Bodies of plane crash victims recovered

Canadian Press

Monday, September 01, 2003

PENTICTON -- The bodies of three people killed when their float plane crashed in the hills northeast of Penticton were recovered Saturday.

The de Havilland Beaver, en route to Calgary, crashed Friday afternoon in rugged terrain near Greyback Lake, about 14 kilometres northeast of Penticton, said RCMP Const. Blake Walkinshaw on Saturday afternoon.

The wreckage was discovered when forestry crews noticed a plume of smoke coming from a forested area near the lake.

"After that, they dispatched one of their water bombers and when the water bomber put the fire out, they noticed the wreckage of the plane in a steep ravine area," said Walkinshaw.

A forestry rapid response team was later helicoptered into the area and discovered the bodies of three people and a dog inside the wreckage.

No names will be released until next of kin are notified.

Walkinshaw said efforts to launch recovery efforts late Friday were hampered by darkness, postponing the recovery until Saturday.

Police and forestry personnel were joined by Transportation Safety Board and coroners officials.

"The area is so steep, so rugged that we can't use aircraft to assist in removing the deceased," said Walkinshaw. "We have to walk them out. It's going to take some time to do the recovery operation."

Walkinshaw said the Beaver aircraft, which is also capable of landing on the ground, had stopped at the Penticton Airport for refuelling during a flight from Vancouver Island to Calgary.

But he could not say whether there had been any radio contact between the pilot and airport flight services personnel in the moments prior to the crash.