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One person is dead after a pair of planes collided in mid-air Saturday morning in South Glengarry Township, Ont., provincial police say.
The collision happened around 10:50 a.m., according to a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
Roughly 10 minutes later, Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) got a call from a witness, said Const. Serge Duguay.
Authorities told CBC that one of the two planes, a Piper Seminole, landed safely at the Cornwall-Summerstown Regional Airport nearby.
The other plane, a Cessna 172, was found in the forest north of Martintown, close to County Road 25 between Chapel Road and Concession Road 1.
The sole occupant of that plane was found dead at the scene, OPP said. Duguay did not provide their age or gender.
Const. Serge Duguay confirmed that one plane safely landed at an airport nearby while the other was located ‘deep in the woods’ north of Martintown, Ont. (Cameron Mahler/CBC)
Planes registered with local flight school
“The process [to find the Cessna] was difficult because it was deep in the woods a few kilometres,” Duguay said. “But we were able to locate it.”
Two people were on board the other plane. Neither were reported to be injured, Duguay said.
Both planes appeared to be in the middle of separate training exercises when they collided in the air, said J.P. Regnier, a senior investigator with the TSB.
It’s suspected that the crash severed one of the Cessna 172’s wings, Regnier said.
“The how and why they came into contact with each other, we don’t know yet,” he said. “Hopefully the investigation will be able to determine that at a later date.”
One of the planes involved in Saturday’s crash likely had its wing torn off, said J.P. Regnier, a senior investigator with the federal Transportation Safety Board. (Cameron Mahler/CBC)
‘Just straight down’
Glen Finbow told Radio-Canada he was walking down his farm’s driveway nearby when he heard a loud “pop.” He then turned and saw a plane going down with just one wing.
Finbow said he immediately called 911.
“The plane was probably, I would think, 2,000 feet up. And all you could see was [it going] straight down,” he said. “Didn’t turn, didn’t spin, didn’t do anything. Just straight down.”
Regnier said the TSB was co-ordinating the arrival of specialized equipment to get the Cessna 172 out of the woods.
Investigators would likely still be on scene Sunday, he said, and could remain there for a few days.
According to the TSB, both aircraft were owned and operated by Cornwall Aviation Ltd., a local flight school.
Police have asked the public to avoid the area but say they are seeking witnesses. County Road 25 was still closed as of 3 p.m.
