Cessna 172 Goes Down, Piper Seminole Able To Land Safely

The pilot and sole occupant of a Cessna 172 was killed when the aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision above the town of Martintown in southeastern Ontario.

The aircraft went down in a wooded area and the pilot, a 28-year-old man from Île-Bizard, Quebec, was found dead. The other aircraft, a Piper Seminole with two on board, was able to land safely at Cornwall Regional Airport (YCC/CYCC).

Jean-Pierre Régnie, senior investigator for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said to local media, “After the mid-air collision, the Piper Seminole was able to land safely at Cornwall airport. However, one of the wings separated from the Cessna and the aircraft crashed in the woods.”

He added that both aircraft are owned by Cornwall Aviation Ltd., and were conducting training flights when they collided.

Cornwall paramedics said a Search and Rescue technician parachuted into the scene located in a marshy area and located the airplane submerged in swampy terrain.

Régnie continued, “We will gather information from obviously both pilots, any other witnesses. We will gather weather information, radar information from NAV Canada, and will bring that all back together to try to reconstruct the timeline the sequence of events to be able to figure out what happened and why.”

Several local residents who witnessed the incident told local media they had been in contact with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

The management of Cornwall Aviation said in a statement posted online, “Today was a very difficult day for our aviation community. Nothing can prepare you for such tragedy.  Many have reached out with thoughts and comfort and we appreciate every one of you. At this time we would ask that your thoughts be with the family of those directly affected and the days to come for them. Thank you to all of the first responders, police, search and rescue, and neighbours that were selflessly doing everything possible during this difficult time.

FMI:  https://cornwallaviation.ca