A male pilot and female passenger were in hospital in serious but stable condition June 28 after a privately-owned plane crashed in a residential neighbourhood about 40 kilometres north of Victoria on its way from Sechelt.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) confirmed with Coast Reporter the Beech G36 Bonanza took off from Sechelt Airport on Monday and was flying to Victoria.
B.C. Emergency Services was called about 1:25 p.m. after the aircraft crashed in a wooded residential neighbourhood at Hayden Place near Mill Bay.
The two Vancouver Island residents were the only passengers on the plane, according to RCMP Sgt. Chris Manseau, who said impairment was not a factor in the crash.
TSB staff will not be deployed to the site of the crash, according to a spokesperson, but are gathering information remotely and are assessing the incident to determine next steps.
Six ground and two air ambulances were initially dispatched to the scene, where paramedics cared for two patients.
One patient was transported by ground ambulance to hospital in serious but stable condition.
The second patient was airlifted to a higher level of care facility in critical condition.
Ken Gallant, vice-president of operations for the Victoria Airport Authority, said the airport received a mayday call around 1:20 p.m. from a small aircraft experiencing engine problems.
“Our fire department and aircraft fire rescue got into response mode and then we were notified the aircraft wasn’t going to come,” he said, noting they had been told the pilot was instead going to attempt to land on a grass strip in the Mill Bay area.
– with files from Andrew Duffy, Times Colonist
