Vancouver/CMEDIA: Following reportedly a plane crash near Squamish, B.C. Friday night. the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada has confirmed that it is working with local Mounties and the BC Coroners Service.
The TSB also said it has not been deployed to the scene yet, and questions about the incident have been referred to Squamish RCMP.
Questions about the incident to local police were also referred to the.BC Emergency Health Services.
In a statement Saturday afternoon, Squamish RCMP said they have received a report of the crash “in a remote area” and are “working with partner agencies to advance the investigation.”
After receiving an automatic crash notification from a smartphone Friday evening, said Police, and found that the location of the phone was “in a remote area on the outskirts of Squamish, B.C.”
Both Search and rescue crews and the Canadian Forces’ Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Victoria, have been called in to help advance the investigation, police said.
“Due to the challenges of accessing the remote location, police are not yet able to confirm any details regarding the crash,” the statement reads. “No further information will be provided at this time.”
Asked about its response, the JRCC reportedly said that it was informed of “an overdue private aircraft” shortly before 6:30 p.m adding that the location given was “20 nautical miles north of Vancouver.”
JRCC said that it had tasked a CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and a CC-130 Hercules plane from 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron in Comox to search for the small aircraft.
The search was focused, according to the JRCC on “Mount Ellesmere and its surrounding area”
Located on the west side of Howe Sound, Mount Ellesmere is roughly 10 kilometers southwest of downtown Squamish.
But due to increasingly challenging weather conditions, JRCC said the Cormorant and Hercules returned to base shortly after they were dispatched Friday night.
The JRCC added that on Saturday, the RCMP informed it that its resources were no longer needed.
Tasked with investigating civil aviation incidents, including crashes, that occur in Canadian airspace, the TSB conducts independent investigations, and after identifying the factors that contributed to each incident, publishes reports including any safety deficiencies that need to be addressed.
