A Comox Valley man in his 70s died after a small plane crashed in a remote area on the west coast of Vancouver Island Saturday, the B.C. Coroners Service says.
The B.C. Coroners Service said Monday that it is investigating the circumstances surrounding the man's death. No other details were available.
The plane was headed to an airpark in Courtenay and was scheduled to land around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Comox Valley RCMP were told that the plane was late around 4 p.m. and began contacting other Vancouver Island airports hoping to find the missing plane.
Victoria’s Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre began a search for the plane after receiving a call from RCMP around 4:30 p.m.
Search and rescue crews went out Saturday night but weren’t able to locate it, said Maj. Sandy Bourne, the centre’s duty public affairs officer. Crews on the ground found the crash site near Sydney Inlet Provincial Park, northwest of Tofino, on Sunday morning at about 9 a.m. and confirmed it was the missing plane.
The Transportation Safety Board said the plane is a four-seat Cessna 172. The agency is trying to determine whether investigators will be able to reach the crash site, because the remote location makes access difficult. Investigators may have to wait until the plane can be moved to another location.
