Particle.news

Pilot Found Dead After Home-Built Plane Located in Wolfe Lake

A planned recovery operation will preserve evidence for a Transportation Safety Board technical investigation.

Overview

  • The 73-year-old pilot, identified by police as David, departed Oshawa Executive Airport in a privately built aircraft and was reported missing after he failed to return.
  • A multi-agency search involving the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, the Ontario Provincial Police, Durham police and the province’s natural-resources teams was launched to locate the aircraft.
  • Crews recovered aircraft debris from Wolfe Lake and later located the submerged plane there, after which searchers confirmed the pilot was dead.
  • Police say they are organizing a recovery of the wreckage and the Transportation Safety Board has deployed investigators to the nearby area to begin a technical probe into the accident.
  • Recovering a submerged, privately built aircraft inside a protected park is logistically complex and the evidence-gathering recovery and TSB analysis are likely to determine cause and guide any safety findings.