Burns Lake, B.C. -Police have confirmed, the person who died in a small plane crash yesterday, was the pilot of the plane.

Around 9  Monday morning, the de Havilland DHC-2  with 5 on board, took off from the Vanderhoof  airport bound for Laidman Lake,   which is  about a 30  minute flight southwest  from Vanderhoof.

Around 9:25, a survivor of the crash  called  the RCMP  by cellphone to advise the plane had gone down 120 km SW of Vanderhoof, near Moose Lake and the NuGold Mine area.

One person, the pilot,  was deceased.

The Burns Lake RCMP immediately activated several resources which included the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC), with CFB Comox providing a Search and Rescue Buffalo aircraft and a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter. The Vanderhoof Search and Rescue Team were also dispatched to the scene via helicopter. BC Ambulance Services were also involved at multiple points.

On attendance to the crash site, 3 CFB Comox SAR technicians parachuted from the Buffalo aircraft into the site to provide First Aid to survivors. All 4 survivors were extracted from the crash site in rescue baskets lowered from the helicopter. The Vanderhoof SAR technicians were able to land near the site and able to extricate the body of the deceased pilot from the wreckage. The man’s body was transported out of the site by the Vanderhoof SAR Team on behalf of the BC Coroners Services, stated Cpl Dan Moskaluk.

All of the survivors were transported to Anahim Lake, where 3 were then flown to the Lower Mainland and 1 to Kamloops, all via BCAS Medi-Vac aircraft.

The Burns Lake and Anahim Lake RCMP are continuing to assist the BC Coroners Services and the Transportation Safety Board, with their investigation into the crash and the man’s death.