Fatal Occurrence 2010Q0952
Small plane crashes on Isle-aux-Grues, 4 dead
QUEBEC — Four people have died after the small plane they were travelling in crashed Wednesday on an island near Quebec City.
The Cessna 172 carrying four people crashed on Isle-aux-Grues, located in the St. Lawrence River, about 80 kilometres east of Quebec City.
Provincial police said three of the passengers died in the crash, which took place around 3:30 p.m. ET. The fourth person, who was critically injured, was flown from the island and taken to the hospital, where he died late last night.
Witnesses said the plane was flying very low over a field when it hit a pile a gravel. The plane flipped over and burst into flames when it hit the ground.
Marie-France Bernier, a resident of the island who went to the scene of the accident, said the charred and broken debris of the plane are sprinkled across the field.
"I can tell you it's a horrific scene," Bernier said.
The Cessna was operated by a Quebec City aviation training centre.
Isle-aux-Grues is a tiny community of about 150 people. During winter, it is accessible only by plane and in the summer a ferry also provides transportation.
Bernier said residents were worried whey they heard about the crash because the children living on the island take a plane every day to go to school in nearby Montmagny.
"Parents started to panic pretty quickly," Bernier said.
The plane was returning to Quebec City after earlier landing on Isle-aux-Grues when the accident happened.
The Transportation Safety Board has launched an investigation. Two investigators were dispatched to the scene.
Spokesman Chris Krepski said the accident occurred a little less than a kilometre away from the island's runway.
