Canada: Pilot killed after his plane collides with another aircraft and crashes in Ottawa
No passengers in the second plane sustained injuries.
The pilot of a passenger aircraft died after colliding with another plane and plunging into a field near Canada’s capital Ottawa on Sunday, AFP reported. The pilot of the Cessna aircraft, who was flying alone, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident took place in Carp, Ontario, located around 30 km from Ottawa.
A Transport Canada spokesperson said that the second plane was diverted to Ottawa Airport and landed safely. No passengers sustained injuries, the Ottawa Sun reported. The pilot of the second plane reportedly told the Ottawa Airport tower that it had been struck from below.
According to eyewitnesses, the two planes had been in a holding pattern and circling the airport when they collided.
Investigators of the Transportation Safety Board reached the site after the incident was reported and said the crashed plane would be taken to a laboratory in the capital.
“We’ll be looking at the aircraft, we’ll be looking at the operations of the companies, or the people involved, we’ll be looking at the history of the pilots, we’ll also look at the environmental factors such as weather,” said senior investigator Captain Beverley Harvey. “If there’s anything of real safety significance that comes out, that we notice right away, we’ll inform the public.”