UPDATE:
It’s believed a pilot was stuck in his crashed single-seater plane at the Merritt Airport for hours before he was rescued.
The crash is believed to have happened sometime around dusk on Sunday, and the man was found on the runway at 12:14 a.m. today, when he was reported missing. He was extricated out of the plane and taken to hospital.
Merritt CAO Scott Hildebrand says the crash victim, a man in his 60s, had just moved to Merritt from another province and had brought his plane to the airport on a flatbed truck.
The city owns and operates the airport, and Hildebrand talked about the response after the scene was turned over to the city at 11 a.m.
“We needed to back out there and make sure the runway was safe, we had to clean up the runway, clean up some fuel that had spilled, and make sure it was safe again to reopen the facility. So we’re back up and running for business, as of 3 o’clock today,” Hildebrand tells NL News.
Southeast District RCMP Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey says it’s not clear how long the pilot was trapped inside the plane, but notes he was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
“At this time his current condition is not known,” noted O’Donaghey.
Along with the RCMP, Transport Canada is also investigating the crash.
Meanwhile, Hildebrand says it’s not known exactly how the crash happened. The airport is non-towered, meaning pilots don’t work with an air traffic controller.
“I know Nav Canada has been made aware, they’re certainly involved. As well as the [ Nav Canada] Flight Information Centre, the RCMP were also involved in investigating. So from that point, I may get information from those. But the City of Merritt, it’s our facility, and certainly we’ll get updated when that does become available, that information.”
Merritt mayor Linda Brown thanked the efforts of emergency crews, city crews and others who have responded to the crash.
“This type of news is never easy to hear. My heart goes out to the person involved and his family.”
Anyone who may have witnessed the incident is also being asked to call police.
Photo via City of Merritt
– with files from Colton Davies