Two dead, two hurt in float plane crash in remote area of Vancouver Island

Two others aboard craft emerged unscathed, safety board reports

TOFINO, B.C. Two people were killed and another two injured when a float plane believed to be carrying a group of hikers crashed Friday in a remote area of Vancouver Island, the Transportation Safety Board said.

Another two people aboard the plane were unharmed, the safety agency confirmed.

The Air Nootka plane with five passengers and a pilot left Hesquiaht Lake, about 85 kilometres northwest of Tofino, on Friday morning but an emergency beacon was activated minutes after takeoff.

The plane was en route to Gold River, about 40 kilometres to the northeast.

That triggered a search that involved multiple aircraft, as well as an RCMP vessel, but difficult terrain and poor weather hampered those efforts. The plane’s wreckage was later discovered just north of the lake.

One of the injured was in critical condition, said Bill Yearwood of the Transportation Safety Board.

Yearwood said investigators were preparing to head to the scene.

“We are just trying to organize for deployment to the accident site,” said Yearwood.

Air Nootka, a commercial float plane operator based in Gold River, declined to comment.

RCMP spokesman Cpl. Darren Lagan said it was a difficult search.

“It’s a fairly dense forested area,” he said.

There was “rain falling, there’s some light wind in the area and limited visibility. The waters are described as being rough — not terribly dangerous seas, but certainly higher than you would typically see in the summer months.”

Jean Jackson, who was helping to dispatch search volunteers with the Hesquiaht First Nation, said dozens of people from her band and two others in the area helped scour the water, land and beach front for survivors.