Fatal Deer Lake plane crash leaves family mourning halfway across the world

A fatal plane crash in Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador has left a family grieving on the other side of the world.

Shock rippled through the western Newfoundland town of 5,000 people in late July after hearing reports of a small plane crashing near the region's airport.

The aircraft was a Piper Navajo twin-engine plane. The pilot, a 54-year-old man, and the lone passenger, a 27-year-old man, were both pronounced dead at the scene.

This week, the family identified the passenger to CBC News as Gautham Santosh, from Kerala, India. He was living in Canada to become a pilot.

"He just wanted to fly. Ever since he was a child, he wanted to be a pilot," Gautham's sister, Ganga Santosh, told CBC News.

Now, she says, her family is in shock and reeling.

"Everybody's devastated because of such a thing, no one would dream of it happening," Ganga Santosh said.

Always wanted to be a pilot

Gautham Santosh is described as a gentleman and his brother-in-law Sonu Prathap said he was a reliable person.

"He was someone you can count on once you get to know him," Prathap said. "It sounds cliche, but he was truly like that."

Ganga Santosh said her brother was determined to chase his dream and become a pilot. As a child, she says, he was obsessed with planes.

"My grandma, she used to say, whichever notebook you open, you'll find images of these airplanes. And he had ideas about all of them, all types of models. He knew the name, he knew how the design was, everything," she said.

When it came time to pursue post-secondary education, Ganga Santosh said her brother was convinced to study mechanical engineering. She said their mother considered it the safer career option but he dropped out after his second year in the program.

"He was like, 'No, this is not my passion. My passion is flying, like I'm meant for that,' and so at last my mom gave in," Ganga Santosh said.

Gautham Santosh moved to Canada in 2019. He studied and worked at the Pacific Professional Flight Centre in British Columbia. Ganga Santosh said he recently started working with the owner of the Piper Navajo twin-engine plane in order to gain more flying hours.

"I think it's been three to four weeks now since he's been working there with Kisik," Ganga Santosh said.

Last contact

On July 26, his family knew he was getting on a plane in Deer Lake. Ganga Santosh said her brother called their mom beforehand.

"He had called my mom and said, 'I'm going to the airport, it's my off-day, but there's some work that I need to do, and after that I'm taking a rest,'" she said.

Their mother is shaken by the last conversation she had with Gautham Santosh.

"The last word he said was that he's taking a rest, which is still hurting my mom so much. She didn't think that it would end in such a kind of rest," Ganga Santosh said.

Gautham Santosh had big plans for his future. In the short term, he was going to visit home in September and surprise his mom for Onam, an annual harvest and cultural festival in India.

"He's like, 'I'll surprise mommy. I won't tell him I'm coming,'" Ganga Santosh said. "He planned all that, but unfortunately, as you can see, he could not keep up those plans."

Repatriation

Now, his family is hoping to bring home what they can of his remains.

"It was a twin-engine flight, and it was supposed to fly for eight to 10 hours or something. So that much fuel and the crash happened right after take off caused a really huge explosion," she said.

"We still do not know how much is left."

The crash is currently under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Ganga Santosh said whatever is left of her brother is in the hands of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in St. John's.

She hopes that in the coming weeks, his remains will be repatriated.

"We need him back, because in India, I'm sure you know, we have some last rites and things to be done," Ganga Santosh said.

Her brother died doing what he loved, she said.

"He just loved it. He used to be like, 'I flew this many hours. I flew 12 hours. I flew straight. It was amazing,'" Ganga Santosh said.

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