The crash of an ultra-light plane in Cape Breton has killed a 54-year-old man and sent a 26-year-old man to hospital.
“When we arrived there was two occupants on the plane and one was unresponsive,” says Dave Mackenzie with the Middle River fire department. “When we got closer we entered the building through a side door and found two occupants in the plane.”
The older man was pronounced dead on the scene, while the younger man was airlifted to a Halifax hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The plane was cleared from the scene early Sunday morning and handed over to the family.
The cause of the accident is not yet known, but Mackenzie says the plane crashed just after takeoff, clipping a mailbox and headed straight for the barn.
According to residents in the area, the 54-year-old had been flying for years and recently purchased a new plane. They say the 26-year-old is a local pharmacist’s son.
Both were well known to the community.
“It’s very devastating to find that somebody you know is in a crash like this,” says Mackenzie.
The family members of the victims declined to comment.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
