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The pilot and sole occupant of a small plane is dead after the single-engine aircraft crashed in a southern Manitoba field on Saturday morning.
The incident happened just west of Dugald, which is south of Oakbank — both communities in the Rural Municipality of Springfield, around 20 kilometres east of Winnipeg.
“I’m just saddened,” Patrick Therrien, the mayor of the RM of Springfield told CBC News Sunday evening.
“It’s tragic whether it’s through … vehicles or however the person passes,” he said. “I’m hoping the investigation will come up with some results.”
Manitoba RCMP said they responded to the plane crash at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, where they found wreckage of the single-engine aircraft.
The body of a male was recovered, police said. Mounties did not release any other details on the victim’s identity.
Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said the pilot was the only occupant onboard a privately registered Quad City Challenger II ultralight aircraft.
Several neighbours told CBC they were the first on the scene and helped bring first responders to the crash site.
Brian Seaton, fire chief at the RM of Springfield, told CBC News crews received multiple calls regarding the crash on Saturday morning. Firefighters learned the aircraft had come down in behind a home, in a farmer’s field.
“It’s devastating,” Seaton said. “It’s not every day that you see a plane crash.”
RCMP took over the investigation soon after and they helped police until the Transportation Safety Board came and they were cleared, Seaton said. Firefighters were called hours later to help clear the wreckage.
Therrien also said his thoughts are with first responders and anyone else who may have helped them at the scene.
“Our community is like any other community,” he said. “You go out and you help people where and when you can.”
The TSB, which is responsible for investigating transportation accidents, said it has deployed a team of investigators to gather information and assess the accident.
