Phil Wimmer of the Oungre, Sask., area and his son Brad, of the Tribune, Sask., area. The father and son were flying to a Father’s Day breakfast on Sunday, June 15, when their Cessna 172 piloted by Brad crashed near Torquay, Sask., killing both. Photo courtesy Wimmer family. A father and son were flying to a Father's Day breakfast when their plane crashed Sunday, killing both men.
Brad Wimmer, 29, and his dad Phil Wimmer, 59, were heading to the annual Father's Day fly-in breakfast in Lampman for the first time together when weather conditions apparently forced Brad to turn the small airplane around.
"They just decided the weather was bad, and we don't know after that," said Charlene Wimmer, Phil's wife and Brad's mother.
She said Brad had been flying for the past five years.
Brad, of the Tribune area, and Phil, of the Oungre area, were both farmers and ranchers. The family gathered to grieve on Sunday and Monday, but a day after losing her husband and a son, Charlene was already aware of the tasks left unfinished.
"The kids are here. We've got bulls to go out today, Brad's got a pasture of cows to get moved and we still have to do farm work," she said.
The Wimmers didn't have a family farm, but Phil, Brad and Brad's brother regularly pooled their efforts and resources.
"The boys were running the outfit and telling dad what to do," Charlene said. "Brad bought his own farm, but they farmed together. Brad had land, we had land and another son had land, and they farmed it all together."
Brad and his wife Jennelle were due to mark their seventh wedding anniversary next week. Brad and Jennelle's sons are one and three years old.
"He was the best father," Charlene said.
She said Brad was loved by everyone who knew him.
"Brad was here (to have) a good time on Earth, and he did," Charlene said.
Phil was an active father of four and grandfather of six, who "would do anything for anybody," she said.
"He loved his Hereford cows and to farm with his two boys. He loved to play cards, curling and volleyball."
On Sunday, the Wimmers took off in a Cessna 172 airplane from a private airstrip near Torquay as they attempted to travel together with another plane, before hitting the ground at 10:12 a.m. The occupants of the other plane located the crash site and notified the authorities.
Torquay is located near the Canada-U.S. border, approximately 200 kilometres southeast of Regina and less than 100 kilometres southwest of Lampman. The investigation is ongoing, led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada with assistance from Estevan RCMP.
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A father and son were en route to a Father's Day breakfast when their plane crashed Sunday, killing both men.
Brad Wimmer, 29, and his dad Phil Wimmer, 59, were heading to the annual Father's Day fly-in breakfast in Lampman for the first time together when weather conditions apparently forced Brad to turn the small airplane around.
"They just decided the weather was bad, and we don't know after that," said Charlene Wimmer, Phil's wife and Brad's mother.
She said Brad had been flying for the past five years.
Brad, of the Tribune area, and Phil, of the Oungre area, were both farmers and ranchers.
The family gathered to grieve on Sunday and Monday, but a day after losing her husband and a son, Charlene was already aware of the tasks unfinished.
"The kids are here. We've got bulls to go out today, Brad's got a pasture of cows to get moved and we still have to do farm work," Charlene said.
The Wimmers didn't have a family farm, but Phil, Brad and Brad's brother regularly pooled their efforts and resources.
"The boys were running the outfit and telling dad what to do," Charlene said. "Brad bought his own farm, but they farmed together. Brad had land, we had land and another son had land and they farmed it all together."
Brad and his wife Jennelle were due to mark their seventh wedding anniversary next week. Brad and Jennelle's sons are one and three years old.
"He was the best father," Charlene said.
She said Brad was loved by everyone who knew him. "Brad was here (to have) a good time on Earth, and he did," Charlene said.
Phil was the active father of four and grandfather of six, who "would do anything for anybody.
"He loved his Hereford cows and to farm with his two boys. He loved to play cards, curling and volleyball," Charlene said. On Sunday, the Wimmers took off in a Cessna 172 airplane from a private airstrip near Torquay as they attempted to travel together with another plane, before hitting the ground at 10:12 a.m. The occupants of the other plane located the crash site and notified the authorities.
Torquay is located near the Canada-U.S. border, approximately 200 kilometres southeast of Regina and less than 100 kilometres southwest of Lampman.
The investigation is ongoing, led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada with assistance from Estevan RCMP.
Peter Hildebrand from the Transportation Safety Board said investigators will look into weather conditions and possible mechanical issues after the plane is retrieved from the wet ditch where it settled. The engine and propeller of the plane weren't visible on Monday afternoon.
John Erickson, a retired flight instructor with more than 20 years of experience, said there was fog in and around the Estevan area on Sunday morning that could've been problematic for pilots.
"Weather is very likely a factor in it. That's the only way they'd be that low in that part of the country, to keep visibility," Erickson said.
Source: http://www.leaderpost.com
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