The pilot of a twin-engine, who died after his aircraft crashed just off a Powell River street Monday morning, has been identified.
The pilot and lone occupant in the plane was identified this afternoon as 54-year-old David Thomas Tetarenko, of Coquitlam, confirmed the BC Coroners Service.
Tetarenko flew out of Pitt Meadows earlier that day. It's still unclear exactly what went wrong in the air, but according to the coroners service, witnesses noted the plane "behaving oddly in the air, following which it was seen to crash into a vacant cleared area."
The Piper aircraft crashed at about 11:15 a.m., and the pilot was pronounced dead at the scene.
The PA-30 Comanche airplane was believed to be flying in from Pitt Meadows when it crashed on the side of the road. No one on the ground was injured, and an ambulance was able to arrive "quickly" at the scene, said Cpl. Aubrey Hachey of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.
As of Tuesday, police elaborated further, saying the plane came down in a small wooded area behind an apartment building on Joyce Avenue.
"Initial investigation, as well as eye witness accounts, suggest the small twin engine plane – travelling from Lower Mainland area to Powell River – was shaking from side to side as it flew over the apartment building. The aircraft spiraled once before hitting the ground. There was no fire or smoke reported," said RCMP Sgt. Kevin Day, the operations NCO for Powell River RCMP.
He explained the investigation has since been turned over to TSB.
Later, on the evening of the crash, TSB confirmed two investigators were on site and "just starting to gather information," said TSB spokesman Jule Leroux.
"Right now, the TSB has sent two investigators to the accident site," Leroux said. "They started to do their work. They are gathering information. They are doing interviews with witnesses, and they are taking pictures."
As for the cause of the crash, Leroux said "It's too early to draw any conclusions. They need to get all the data before."
Meanwhile, Powell River resident Frank Clayton posted on Facebook, saying: “Today I witnessed a plane crash in Powell River, next to the Safeway parking lot. It was very traumatic.”
The CEO of the Canadian Martial Arts Society said he suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and his thoughts go out to first responders to the crash. “I feel for you guys,” Clayton wrote.
Kyle Ewasiuk, a director of the Golden Ears Flying Club, confirmed that the dead pilot had kept his airplane at the Pitt Meadows airport, but said he was not a member of the club.
Ewasiuk knew little else about the pilot.
He was my Brother, and the nicest greatest most interesting
ReplyDeletePerson you could ever know!
Why has there been no investigation or report from TSB regarding this fatal crash?? It has been five years?
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