Pilot confirmed dead in small plane crash west of Ottawa airport
Paramedics say pilot pronounced dead at scene, 2 others rescued from plane
The pilot of a small aircraft that crashed in Ottawa near the airport Thursday evening was pronounced dead at the scene, paramedics told CBC on Friday.
Three people were aboard the aircraft, with the crash happening shortly before 6 p.m. in the area of Riverside Drive and West Hunt Club Road.
The privately registered Grumman AA-5A aircraft took off from Gatineau airport at around 5:35 p.m., according to Jean-Pierre Régnier, an investigator with the Transportation Safety Board (TSB).
At some point, "the engine sputtered and failed" and there was a substantial loss of engine oil, Régnier said.
"The pilot declared an emergency with the Ottawa control tower air traffic control and he was cleared to land on runway 14 here in Ottawa. Unfortunately, the aircraft lost altitude and collided with terrain in behind me," he said.
A photo shared by a resident showed a plane wedged in the trees.
A man and a woman were rescued from the plane and taken to the hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
The TSB and police have not yet identified the deceased man who piloted the plane.
The Ottawa Airport Fire Service also responded to the crash, according to the Ottawa International Airport Authority. Operations at the airport were not disrupted.
Witness recalls crash
Adelle Forth heard the crash from inside her house and was able to approach the wreckage before authorities asked residents to move back.
Forth said she saw fuel leaking from the plane stuck in the trees and worried about damage to a nearby power line.
She tried to communicate with the plane's occupants but did not get a verbal response.
"My other neighbour... yells at me 'Adelle get back because it's sparking and it could get it could go on fire' so I backed away," she told CBC.
Forth said she's lived in her house near the airport since 1998, and has never seen a plane crash in the area.
"It's just so sad that the pilot did not make it," she said.
