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Authorities have found the wreckage of a plane that disappeared over the North Shore mountains early Monday morning.
Members of the North Vancouver RCMP, Canadian Forces' Joint Rescue Co-Ordination Centre in Victoria, Talon Helicopters and North Shore Rescue had been combing the backcountry between Grouse Mountain and Cathedral Mountain, in hopes of spotting any sign of the plane or the two pilots on board.
The search for Carson Air flight 66 came to an end in the early evening.
“This evening a significant amount of debris was located in the search area. At 6 p.m., I engaged the RCMP's highly trained aerial extraction team to maintain continuity of the scene over night,” said Insp. Davis Wendell, RCMP's regional duty officer at a media briefing on Monday night. “At this time, we're doing everything humanly possible to successfully complete a rescue operation here.”
The white, twin engine SA226 aircraft had departed from Vancouver International Airport around 7 a.m. en route to Prince George, but it disappeared from radar about five kilometres north of Mount Seymour about 10 minutes later.
Searchers scoured the “high-probability area” in a Cormorant helicopter and DHC-5 Buffalo search plane though the effort was hampered by a low ceiling turbulence.
It was North Shore Rescue volunteers on foot with Metro Vancouver's parks and watershed management staff,who came by the crash site in Lynn Headwaters Regional Park.
“It's in very steep terrain – a box canyon if you will. It's actually very close to the route up to Coliseum Mountain,” said Mike Danks, North Shore Rescue team leader. “There's about a foot of fresh snow back there right now. Part of the debris is covered in snow.”
Those are conditions the RCMP rescue team are prepared for, Wendell said.
“We've had them in situations similar to this on top of mountainsides for three or four nights at a time. They’re fully equipped to do this. They are trained and dedicated individuals and that's why they're on their way up there now,” he said.
North Vancouver RCMP will be taking the lead on the investigation for the time being, Wendell said, in partnership with the Transportation Safety Board.
Danks said he was proud of the effort from the roughly 25 volunteers.
“It's not a call we get all the time but I'm very proud of how our members responded and with the urgency that they undertook. We had a lot of people leave work today to make sure they were there,” he said.
