But Seven Lost When Plane Crashes On Thormanby Island

Seven persons onboard a Grumman Goose were lost Sunday when their amphibious plane crashed Sunday off the coast of British Columbia... but one passenger survived the fiery accident.

The Canadian Press reports the aircraft, flying for Pacific Coastal Airlines (similar to type shown at right), was reported missing Sunday morning. The Vancouver Sun adds the plane was en route from Vancouver to Powell River, and then a hydroelectric power work site at Toba Inlet.

Search crews found the wreckage at approximately 2:15 pm local time on south Thormanby Island, a remote island west of the Sunshine Coast. Their search was made more difficult by mist and low clouds over the island; it's not yet known whether those conditions may have been causal to the accident.

Capt. Rob Mulholland piloted the Canadian Forces Cormorant helicopter that transported crews to the scene. He told reporters it appeared the plane impacted trees, cutting a large path through the wooded area near the top of a steep hillside.

"The first thing that I thought when I saw it was that there was no way that anyone could have survived," Mulholland said. "It was a very violent impact. The aircraft was broken apart into many pieces, a large debris field with many post-crash fires."

As officials secured the accident site, a man emerged from brush near the beach wrapped in a yellow sheet, and waving his arms. "His face was burned, his chest was burned, his hands were burned and he had some gashes on his body," said rescue team spokesman Drew McKee.

While being transported to a nearby hospital at Half Moon Bay, the 35-year-old man told authorities he had been napping when the plane crashed, and he believed he had been knocked out for several minutes after impact.

"He didn't have to fight his way out of the plane, because it was in pieces," McKee said. "He got out, and pretty close to after he got out, the plane went up with a whoomph."

The man's name has not been released, and authorities have not disclosed the identities of the seven fatalities in the crash.

Spencer Smith, vice-president of Pacific Coastal, said the pilot who was killed in the crash was highly experienced. "I don't know what to tell you," he said. "There's nothing good about this. It wouldn't take very many people to figure what it feels like, if they have any sense of empathy."

The accident is the second this year for the family-run charter airline. As ANN reported, in August five people were killed when another Goose crashed on Vancouver Island. The investigation into that accident is ongoing, though officials with Canada's Transportation Safety Board noted no evidence has been found of a mechanical problem with the aircraft.

Pacific Coastal operates 26 aircraft -- a mix of deHavilland Beaver floatplanes and Grumman Goose amphibs, along with Saab 340As, Beech 1900s and Shorts S360s. The Sun reports the plane lost in Sunday's crash had been chartered by Peter Kiewit & Sons Inc, a contract construction firm.

FMI: www.pacificcoastal.com