Maryanne Hardman was killed when the plane she was piloting crashed near the Stanley Airport, located about 22 kilometres northeast of Windsor.
Nova Scotia aviation community mourning Hardman, who died in a crash on Sunday
Nova Scotia's aviation community is remembering a pilot who died in an ultralight plane crash in Hants County on Sunday afternoon.
RCMP say Maryanne Hardman, 50, was killed when the plane she was piloting crashed at about 1 p.m. near the Stanley Airport, located about 22 kilometres northeast of Windsor.
Officers say she told the only two other pilots at the airfield when she planned to be back. When she was 10 minutes late they took off in separate aircraft to look for her.
"It didn't take very long at all for them to find the wreckage in what we call the gravel pit area," said Kevin Layden, president of the Stanley Sport Aviation.
The two pilots called 911.
Layden said Hardman's ultralight went down about one kilometre before reaching the runway. She was alone in the aircraft and was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The aircraft apparently came in at a steep angle and it was a very hard impact," said Layden.
He said Hardman had been flying her ultralight for about five years.
"She flew it a lot. She loved to fly. She was at Stanley every opportunity she got," he said.
Transportation Safety Board investigating
There have been accidents at the airport in the past, but Layden says this is the club's first fatality.
"This is the first time we've lost one of our own. I would say that we'll get over it in short order. It'll never leave our memory. Every time we check our airplane over before we go flying, we'll probably be more careful," he said.
"The aviation community is a small community and even all around the Maritimes we have gatherings all summer long. Even if somebody in New Brunswick has an incident, we usually know them personally."
The cause of the crash is unknown.
The RCMP handed the case over to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. It could take months for the board to complete its investigation.
"We look at mechanical issues, we look at weather, we look at pilot training. We take statements. So it's different in different cases," said investigator Murray Hamm.
The club in Stanley leases the airport from Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources.
http://www.stanleysportaviation.ns.ca/
http://www.cbc.ca
Emergency personnel work at the site of an ultralight plane crash that killed a woman on Sunday afternoon near the Stanley airport in Hants County.
STANLEY, N.S. — The flying club in Stanley has lost a member whose love of aviation stood out even among fellow pilots.
RCMP confirmed on Monday morning that 50-year-old Maryanne Hardman was the pilot killed in an ultralight plane crash near the Stanley Airport on May 4.
Kevin Layden, president of Stanley Sport Aviation, she was a beloved member of the club.
“(She) loved to fly... was at Stanley every chance she got,” he said.
A resident of the the Halifax area, she was a member of Stanley Sport Aviation for five years, Layden said.
“One fellow said, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to tell my wife,’ and he said ‘I’m just sick to my stomach.’”
Layden was told the downed ultralight plane was discovered by two Stanley Sport Aviation members who took the sky Sunday upon hearing that Hardman was overdue from a morning flight.
The plane Hardman was piloting landed in a wooded area near a gravel pit close to the airport. Emergency responders were called to the scene around 1 p.m.
It is almost impossible to tell what caused the crash until the investigation concludes, Layden said.
“Even if you were an experienced pilot, and you witnessed a crash, you’d probably get it wrong.”
Layden said he is aware of three fatalities associated with another club that no longer flies out of the airport, but this crash marks a tragic first for Stanley Sport Aviation.
“This is the first casualty in the history of the club.”
Airport manager Bob Poirier said the club has been operating for roughly 46 years. Safety regulations are in place, and enforced, at the rural East Hants airport dating back to the Second World War, he added.
Hardman’s death came as a shock to Poirier.
“I’ve flown with her several times,” he said. “She was very meticulous and very safe and an excellent pilot.”
Transport Canada’s Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System (CADORS) contains documents pertaining to two prior fatal plane crashes at the Stanley Airport.
A pilot operating a privately owned Cirrus glider died after his aircraft crashed into trees to the right of Runway 20 shortly after lift-off in May 2002. In July 2004, a glider pilot operating within the Bluenose Soaring Club was fatally injured after losing control of the aircraft.
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One woman is dead following an ultra-light plane crash in Stanley, Hants County.
At approximately 1 p.m. on May 4, RCMP received a 911 call reporting that an ultra-light plane had crashed near the Stanley Airport. The female pilot and lone occupant of the plane was pronounced dead at the scene.
The plane landed in a wooded area not far from the runway. Another pilot reported the crash.
Staff Sgt. Archie Thompson, of the East Hants RCMP, said the pilot was a 50-year-old woman from Halifax “who loved to fly.”
He added that she had been flying for about five years.
The investigation is in its early stages and few details are known at this time. The Transportation and Safety Board will be handling the investigation with assistance from the RCMP.
The name of the deceased is not being released at this time.
More to come.
Plane crash claims life of woman in Hants county; Crash happened at Stanley Airport, northeast of Windsor
A woman is dead after the ultralight plane she was flying crashed in Hants County, Nova Scotia Sunday afternoon.
RCMP Sgt. Brigdit Leger said the crash was reported to police around 1 p.m.
The pilot who died was the only person in the plane when it crashed.
It happened at the Stanley Airport, located about 22 kilometres northeast of Windsor.
http://www.cbc.ca
One woman is dead after a small aircraft crashed at the Stanley airport in Hants County early this afternoon.
An RCMP spokeswoman said they were called to the crash just after 1 p.m.
Sgt. Brigit Leger said the incident is under investigation. Police have not been able to verify if the plane was an ultralight model.
The airport has been the scene of several prior fatalities.
In July 2004, a 63-year-old Dartmouth man died when his glider crashed just after lifting off.
In May 2002, a 58-year-old pilot and instructor crashed his glider into trees at the edge of the runway shortly after take-off. His aircraft was late found to have had mechanical problems.
An investigation into a May 2000 crash that killed a 69-year-old pilot and instructor determined that the incident was caused by combination of strong tailwind and poor design of the aircraft.
