Pilot killed in Beauce crash after Remembrance flypast

A pilot in his 60s died Wednesday when his small plane crashed into a wooded area near the Saint-Georges, Que., airport moments after he took part in a Remembrance Day flypast, provincial police and the city said.

Sûreté du Québec spokesperson Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said the man, who lived in the region, was alone in the privately owned aircraft and was declared dead at the scene after the crash at about 11 a.m., The Canadian Press reported. Police have not released his name.

Saint-Georges Mayor Manon Bougie told CBC News that a formation of six aircraft was flying the Missing Man formation as part of the city’s ceremony when one of the pilots crashed. The city said in a news release that the plane went down as the pilot was approaching the airport to land, and that it caught fire in the woods.

Fire Chief Frédéric Morin said crews arrived in less than six minutes but could not save the pilot because the aircraft was already engulfed in flames, CBC reported. “It was a deeply sad and tragic moment,” Bougie said.

The crash site is in the Beauce region of Chaudière-Appalaches, about 100 kilometres south of Quebec City. A resident who lives near the airport told The Canadian Press she watched one plane veer to the right and drop into the trees, followed by a ball of fire and black smoke. Another resident said six planes passed overhead at about 10:50 a.m. and everything looked normal.

Bilodeau said all the aircraft in the formation were private planes flown by civilian pilots. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it was sending a team of investigators to the site. Bilodeau said the provincial police’s major crimes unit was also looking at the crash, as is routine, though such crashes are rarely linked to a crime.

Quebec Premier Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and National Defence Minister David McGuinty offered condolences to the pilot’s family. The crash came on a day when ceremonies across the country also honoured the four soldiers killed in last month’s fire at CFB Wainwright. For what was open and closed on the holiday, see our Remembrance Day guide.

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