A pilot who was the son of an airline owner was killed Sunday and seven others were injured when a small plane crashed in the Canadian prairie province of Manitoba, officials said on Monday. The cause of the crash was not immediately known.
The accident happened at about 10 a.m. local time on Sunday when the Cessna 208 Caravan single turboprop engine aircraft, which was carrying a pilot and seven adult passengers, went down about 9.6 kilometers (6 miles) east of Snow Lake, a town approximately 428 miles (690 kilometers) north of Winnipeg.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and emergency medical services responded to the scene after one of the passengers was able to call 911. “There is one deceased and seven injured,” said RCMP spokeswoman Sgt. Line Karpish. “All injured have been extricated from the aircraft and are getting medical attention.”
Those injured were immediately transported to the Snow Lake Health Centre where their conditions were stabilized, but some of the victims were later taken to larger hospitals in the region for further treatment. Several of the victims were initially in a serious or critical condition, but their latest condition was unknown as of late Monday.
The deceased was identified as 40-year-old pilot Mark Gogal, a resident of Snow Lake, whose father owns Gogal Air Service. The aircraft involved in the accident, which had departed Snow Lake Airport and was heading to Winnipeg, was also owned by and flying for Gogal Air Service.
The cause of Sunday’s accident, which took place just 1 mile (1.6 kilometer) from Snow Lake Airport, was not immediately known. Both the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and the Workplace Safety and Health Division of the provincial government will be investigating the incident.
