A pilot was rushed to hospital after a float plane crash near Gold River on central Vancouver Island on Friday afternoon.
RCMP tell CHEK News that they received a call around 5:37 p.m. about an overdue plane that was scheduled to land at 5 p.m., but hadn’t.
First responders set out to find the plane and found it in a wooded area just outside the boundaries of the Village of Gold River.
Gold River Fire Chief John McPherson says the crash site was located at the mouth of the Gold River, about 300 metres away from where float planes usually dock.
Firefighters searched the area and were yelling to try to pinpoint the crash site when they heard the pilot respond to the shouts.
The male pilot was the only person onboard the plane. While he was able to respond to firefighters, McPherson says he was seriously injured.
Firefighters took him from the crash site on a spine board, before paramedics transferred him onto a helicopter pad nearby. A Cormorant helicopter from CFB Comox picked up the pilot and flew him to a hospital in Nanaimo, according to McPherson.
Mounties say WorksafeBC, the Transportation Safety Board and Environment Canada have been informed of the crash.
Adam Chan
