The student pilot of a small plane that slammed onto Highway 5A outside Princeton Thursday, April 15, 2021, breaking the aircraft in two, walked away from the crash.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Robert Banks
April 16, 2021 - 1:59 PM
The student pilot of a small plane that slammed onto Highway 5A outside Princeton yesterday afternoon, breaking the aircraft in two, walked away from the crash.
The small Cessna had flown into Princeton yesterday, April 15, and experienced a problem during takeoff from the town's airport just after 4 p.m.
“He clipped the fence at the east end of the property of the airport, took the fence out, crossed (Old Merritt Road) and down onto the main highway,” Princeton fire chief Roberts Banks said. “He buckled the plane up quite well, broke it in two and the pilot walked away."
The 36-year-old student pilot from Oliver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. He was the only occupant of the plane.
Princeton RCMP Cpl. Kyle Richmond said the plane crashed directly in front of a school bus, but there were no kids on the bus during that time. He said no one but the pilot was injured in the crash.
Firefighters took care of a fuel leak on the highway and an investigation continues with Transportation Safety Board of Canada.
It's not the first time the Princeton airport has seen plane crashes.
A few years ago an aircraft low of fuel ran into some homes at the west end of the airport, Banks said.
A search and rescue aircraft with smoke in the cabin declared an emergency and landed at the airport once, and a local person flying an ultralight aircraft crashed multiple times.
"It can be a very busy airport at times," Banks said.
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