Cessna 150, Motorglider Collided Near Nairn Falls Provincial Park

Four people and a dog were fatally injured in an accident Saturday near Pemberton in the Canadian province of British Columbia when a self-powered glider and a Cessna 150 collided in mid-air near the Nairn Falls Provincial Park at about 1300 local time.

News Radio 1130 reports that, according to local police, "one aircraft collided into another and severed the wing off the glider." The type of glider was not specified, but it was described as being "self-powered."

Witnesses said they saw the wings of the glider "just floating, descending very slowly." The Cessna reportedly impacted the ground across a river. While some of the wreckage fell near a campground, no one on the ground was injured.

The area is reportedly popular with the gliding community. The Cessna had departed 108 Mile House, a residential ranch community in the south Cariboo region of British Columbia headed to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

Both aircraft reportedly came down in rugged areas where recovery is "difficult." The Canadian Transportation Safety Board says the investigation will initially focus on GPS tracks of the two airplanes.

It was not reported in which aircraft the dog was a passenger.

FMI: www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng