An investigation into a float plane crash that took the life of a prominent Powell River businessman and former provincial politician continues.
Harold Long, 72, was the pilot and only occupant of a DHC-2 Beaver float plane that was spotted floating upside down in Bute Inlet near Stuart Island on Tuesday, May 21.
Search and rescue technicians, Canadian Coast Guard and RCMP attended the scene and completed the recovery later in the day.
BC Coroners Service and Transportation Safety Board continue to investigate the accident.
"The coroner is working with the Transportation Safety Board to examine the aircraft, among other investigative steps," said Matt Brown, regional coroner.
Long was the Social Credit Party MLA for the riding, which was called Mackenzie, from 1986 to 1991, and the B.C. Liberal MLA in the Powell River-Sunshine Coast riding from 2001 to 2005. He also served on Powell River's municipal council for two years, 1992 to 1993, and was a member of the mayor's task force from 1997 to 1999.
He joined his family's business, City Transfer, in 1958 and in 1979 purchased the company from his father, Bert, and expanded it. He has four children and his two sons, Craig and Phill, run the business.
Long is being remembered for his generosity and anonymous acts of kindness, as well as his love for flying.
City of Powell River Mayor Dave Formosa said he was shocked when he heard about the accident.
"I'm going to miss him, miss that smile and miss watching that plane fly by," he said, adding he considered Harold a mentor. "We used to see him fly by often. He was as much a bird as he was a human. He was always in the air."
Long was larger than life, Formosa said, oriented toward his family, the community and business.
"He had a huge heart. He did a lot of things for people that people would never know or guess," he said. "He was a strong man and a person that wouldn't back down from anything or anybody, but he also had a heart as big as this whole community."
my friend and his family were doing. That's just the kind of guy Harold was and how Former provincial politician Gordon Wilson knew Harold well, as he ran against him in 1991 and 2001.
"We were pretty fierce combatants in politics, but outside of politics, we got along really well," Wilson said. "He did a lot for an awful lot of people in Powell River. It's a real tragedy, I'm very sad about it and I'm very sorry for the loss for his family."
A celebration of Long's life was being held in Powell River on Friday, May 31.
