According to police, they were called to the scene at about 5:46 p.m., to an area off Highway 22 near Chimney Rock Road, about 8 km south of Chain Lakes Provincial Park.
When they got there, they found the pilot had died on impact.
The name of the 37-year-old pilot won’t be released until next of kin are notified, but some information about him has been released.
The man was a pilot from Spruce Grove, Alberta who worked for Edmonton-based Alta Flights Charters. A company manager confirms the plane was a Cessna 172 on patrol monitoring pipelines in the area.
Investigators say the pilot took off from the Edmonton area, and his plane was pointed north when it crashed.
It reportedly skidded for a distance and crashed into a creek embankment. Pieces of the plane sit strewn across a local rancher’s field.
The Transportation Safety Board is now assisting RCMP with the investigation.
Upon arrival, they discovered a 38-year-old man dead inside the Cessna 172 airplane that crash landed in a field.
The victim from Edmonton was the only person in the aircraft.
Canadian Transportation Safety Board western regional manager Jon Lee said the fixed wing aircraft was licensed to Alta Flights Ltd. out of Edmonton.
He said the victim was patrolling pipelines in the area.
“It’s a technique used by the oil and gas industry to be able to visually inspect,” Lee said. “I believe this one was purely a visual inspection to see if there were any signs of leaking. Gas companies typically use this on a scheduled basis to inspect their pipelines.”
The scene was difficult to get to, Lee said, preventing investigators from reaching the crash site until early Monday afternoon.
According to Alta Flights website, the Cessna 172 are strictly outfitted for pipeline patrol and power line surveillance, and are not suited for charter.
“Endearingly known as the ‘pumpkins’, these brightly coloured orange planes are out flying everyday patrolling pipelines across Western Canada,” the website says.
Alta Flights did not return messages or e-mails seeking comment.
The pilot’s name has not been released and a cause of the crash has not been determined.
CTSB is leading the investigation.
C-GRGW (1975) Cessna 172M Alta Flights Ltd.
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