Oscar Burnside, 64, of Owen Sound, is the pilot missing over Georgian
Bay after his Cessna 182P Skylane apparently crashed north of Wasaga
Beach on Thursday Nov. 7 2013.
at 20:09 on November 25, 2013, EST.
The Canadian Press
TINY TOWNSHIP, Ont. - Provincial police say they are continuing a marine search of Nottawasaga Bay for a missing plane and pilot.
The 1968 Cessna 182, being flown by 64-year-old Wilfred Oscar Burnside Owen Sound, left Cornwall on the afternoon of Nov. 7, and was to arrive in Owen Sound that night.
The plane failed to arrive in Owen Sound and has been the subject of a search that has involved the Canadian Armed Forces, RCAF, Canadian Coast Guard, OPP and private citizens.
To date, only small pieces of debris that belong to a Cessna aircraft have been located along the shoreline in Tiny Township.
Anyone who may have seen debris from an aircraft in the Nottawasaga Bay area is asked to contact provincial police.
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Owen Sound family coming to grips with loss of missing pilot
TINY TWP. — An aircraft that went missing Thursday is believed to be at the bottom of Nottawasaga Bay, said Const. David Hobson with Southern Georgian Bay OPP. Debris from a Cessna 182 was found along the shores of Tiny Township, Saturday morning.
The search for the missing aircraft has now become a missing person investigation. “At this point, it leads us to believe that it's crashed into the water,” Hobson said.
"The search for clues has been assisted by strong prevailing west and northwest winds which have produced debris results," he said Sunday morning.
"Some of the debris has been thrown up 40 feet from the water line."
OPP restricted their investigation on Sunday to foot patrols along the shoreline between Conc. 4 and Conc. 8.
The OPP have not located the pilot, identified as Wildfred Oscar Burnside, 64, of Owen Sound, the aircraft, or the crash scene, Hobson added. Burnside's plane is a white, with red trim 1968 Cessna 182, bearing the registration number CFIMQ.
“(The pilot is) presumed to be a missing person,” he said.
Burnside, known to family and friends as Oscar, was reported missing when the single-engine Cessna failed to arrive at the Billy Bishop Regional Airport, east of Owen Sound, at its scheduled time. The plane left Cornwall at 5:10 p.m. on Thursday and was scheduled to arrive near Owen Sound at 7:55 p.m.
Const. Kris Beatty said police employed a 19-foot boat Saturday to try to find the plane or at least better pinpoint where it might have crashed.
“The weather’s hampering our search efforts,” said Beatty as he and other OPP officers packed up their gear Saturday after a day of searching under rainy, cold and windy conditions.
Beatty said officers combed a large section of beach from Sprat Point to Jackson Beach Park to try to find possible debris from the plane.
“We had officers walking along the beach and also had two ATVs driving along the shore to try to find any debris,” Beatty said, pointing out police also canvassed nearby homes to try to find somebody who may have found debris in their yard.
“We don’t have a lot of answers right now. Basically, we’re doing recovery work."
Two aircraft from the Canadian Forces Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton and two from the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association were dispatched Thursday to aid in the search. The search, which involved more than 40, continued most of Friday.
Police concentrated their efforts in the area west of Midland based on the pilot's cellphone company.
"The aircraft did have and electronic locater transmitter but there was no indication of a distress activation. However it is an older model and not as reliable," said David Elias of RCAF media relations.
On Saturday, members of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP and OPP Central Region Snowmobile ATV and Vessel Enforcement (S.A.V.E.) team were scouring the shoreline on ATVS and on foot from Concession Road 4 to Concession Road 8.
“They are searching for any pieces of debris and there have been a few pieces of debris consistent with that of an aircraft that have washed up on shore this morning,” Hobson said.
The OPP helicopter unit also conducted an aerial search of the shoreline.
“When we're able to ascertain where there may be an actual crash scene, should we be able to do that, we'll organize a plan at that point,” Hobson said.
Burnside's family is coming to grips with the tragic situation.
“It's a very difficult time for everyone, and we'll be feeling a lot better once the police locate the plane,” sister-in-law Sharon Burnside said late Saturday afternoon.
She said her brother-in-law had been in Stowe, Vermont, for a few days and was returning home. He was “a very confident guy” in the air, she said, and had had his private pilot's licence for 30 years.
Resigned to what they are presuming is Oscar Burnside's death, Sharon said “it's a big loss,” adding, “We don't quite know how we're going to get along without him.”
A long-time educator, businessman and real estate broker, Oscar Burnside was born in Markdale and graduated from West Hill Secondary School in Owen Sound.
He went onto teacher's college and earned a degree from the University of Western Ontario as well as an MBA from Syracuse University in New York, his sister-in-law said.
“I've never met anybody with more energy who worked harder than he did,” she said.
“He was always working on some kind of new degree, and just in May he earned a post graduate certificate in real property evaluations from the University of British Columbia. He was always tackling some new area.”
In the late 1970s and early 80s, he owned Burnside Home Furnishings in Markdale and ran a business installing in-ground pools.
He also was a partner in Choice Realty Solutions Inc.
His education career included being principal of St. Vincent-Euphrasia school and Osprey Central. Before that he was vice-principal at Georgian Bay Secondary School in Meaford.
Oscar Burnside also taught at OSCVI, John Diefenbaker Secondary School, and started his teaching career at Sydenham school. In retirement, he also taught part-time at Georgian College.
He knew just about everybody, Sharon Burnside said.
“If you were having lunch with him, you could sort of anticipate there'd be a steady stream of people saying hello as they walked by the table. He did seem to know everyone.”
He was also just “one of these amazing people,” she said. “He could operate, drive, build or fix anything. He built his first house literally from the ground up, digging the trenches for the footings and pouring the cement by hand. He could fix anything, build anything. He was an amazing guy.”
Oscar also loved to ski, ride his motorcycle and loved to fly, she said. He was an accomplished musician, particularly on bass guitar, she said, and he loved hard rock music.
Sharon recalled his “soft heart” in relaying a story about a cat he once picked up from the side of the road as an abandoned kitten.
“He was driving home one night, pouring rain, and he saw eyes at the side of the road and stopped, and it was this tiny tiny kitten somebody had abandoned along the way,” she said.
“He had a very big heart, and he was very generous with his time and his talent. It's a big loss.”
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