A Duncan pilot and his passenger escaped with minor injuries when the homemade float plane they were in flipped on Lake Cowichan Sunday.
About 1:30 p.m., John Howroyd and his daughter were preparing for takeoff on the busy recreational lake. The plane hit a wake from a boat and flipped about 200 metres from shore, said Bill Yearwood, spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board’s air investigations. Nearby boaters were able to pull the two occupants out uninjured.
“We spoke to the pilot and he was able to explain what happened,” said Yearwood. The incident will be recorded but no major investigation will be conducted. He was not sure about the extent of the damage to the aircraft, an amateur-built amphibious light aircraft.
“The big story isn’t about us,” Howroyd said. “It’s about all the people that pitched in so much. It shows the wonderful people that we have in this country.”
RCMP and ambulance attended the crash. Air rescue was called but did not attend because the plane’s occupants were quickly helped by witnesses.
— with files from the Cowichan Valley Citizen
