CHETWYND

Monday, June 26, 2023 | 2:27 pm

A local Chetwynd* area man has died following a light aircraft crash on Sunday afternoon in the Pine Le Moray area of the Pine Pass…

Police say on June 25, 2023 at 5:41 PM, the Chetwynd RCMP received a report of a plane crash at Simpson Lake in the Pine Le Moray** area. Police attended the crash site and confirmed that the pilot and sole occupant of the small aircraft had died in the crash. The cause of the crash is still under investigation and police are seeking any witnesses to the crash, or any of its flight prior to the crash.

The aircraft was a small, grey, two-seated Savannah rotax ultralight.

“There are indications that the pilot may have been attempting to make a landing prior to the crash, either at Simson Lake, or possibly Heart Lake,” said Sergeant Wahnese Antonioni, Detachment Commander for the Chetwynd RCMP. “Witnesses or video of the plane that day could play a significant role in determining causal factors in this tragic crash.”

Anyone with any information is asked to call the Chetwynd RCMP at 250-788-9221.

* The pilot was from the Chetwynd area. We previously said Fort St. John. This has been confirmed.

** Heart Lake is located within the Pine Le Moray Provincial Park area in the Pine Pass region. There’s not much info on Simpson Lake when doing a thorough check so a search was done on Heart Lake instead.