Pilot dead after plane crash outside of Fredericton: fire chief

The pilot of an ultralight plane that crashed in a cornfield outside Fredericton has died, according to the fire chief of the Keswick Valley Fire Department.

Just the tail of the plane could be seen from the road, the only sign something was out of place in the field 20 kilometres west of Fredericton.

The Transportation Safety Board confirmed an ultralight aircraft crashed in the field, and that they deployed a team of investigators to the scene who will gather information to try and determine what happened.

A small plane that crashed near Fredericton on July 19, 2024 is seen in this image.

The crash happened before noon Friday, and emergency officials from the Keswick Valley Fire Department, New Brunswick RCMP and New Brunswick Coroner’s Services were on scene until mid-afternoon.

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Ken Hodgson, fire chief for Keswick Valley Fire Department, said their were no other casualties aside from the pilot. 

A small plane that crashed near Fredericton on July 19, 2024 is seen in this image.

Taigue McAvity, who owns the property next to the cornfield, saw the crash happen.

“I came outside and he was kind of doing, loops around,” he said. “He did a loop around my backyard and then kind of seemed to straighten out and fly towards the river and towards the cornfield, and then all of a sudden, just nose down straight into the ground, it was a loud crash.”

He says he and his wife ran out to see if they could help, but realized there was nothing they could do.

A small plane that crashed in a cornfield near Burtts Corner, N.B., is pictured.

“He was unresponsive. We called out a bunch as we're going through the corn and there was no answer. And when we got to the plane, you could see that he'd come in, you know, hard,” he said.

McAvity says the pair ran back to the road to call for help, but emergency officials were already arriving on scene.

Safety officials are expected to be on site over the weekend.

-With files from The Canadian Press

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