Two People Survived When Plane Went Down Off Saturna Island

A floatplane with eight people, one of them an infant, on board went down Sunday apparently just after takeoff from Saturna Island in British Columbia between the mainland and Vancouver Island. Two people, one of them the pilot, survived the crash.

File Photo

The de Havilland Beaver floatplane was flying for Seair, a company offering scheduled floatplane services between Vancouver and Vancouver Island for 28 years. Seair co-owner Christy Clarke told The National Post that the pilot had been flying full time for the company for about three years, but offered no further details. The plane had made scheduled stops on Mayne and Pender Islands to pick up passengers. Saturna Island was the last stop before returning to Vancouver.

Multiple media sources, including Canada.com, say Canadian Coast Guard divers found the plane in about 33 feet of water. Clarke said it was likely the crash happened on takeoff due to the number of people on board. Several Saturna Island residents rushed to the crash scene in their boats and rescued the two survivors, but the aircraft sank in the 3-4 minutes they said it took then to arrive at the scene.

Transport Canada will investigate the accident, which was the first in Seair's 28 years of operation.

FMI: www.tsb.gc.ca/en/index.asp