1 Dead After Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Prince George Road and Strikes Vehicles

Olivia Singh

8/21/20262 min read

One person has died after a small aircraft made an emergency landing on a busy Prince George road Thursday afternoon and became involved in a collision with two motor vehicles.

Prince George RCMP said the incident happened at approximately 2:30 p.m. PT on Foothills Boulevard near Highland Drive, about 1.5 kilometres north of North Nechako Road.

Police confirmed Thursday that an occupant of one of the vehicles involved had died.

“Police are saddened to confirm that there has been one fatality in this incident, an occupant of one of the vehicles,” RCMP said in a statement.

Police said the extent of any injuries to the remaining vehicle occupants and those aboard the aircraft was initially unknown.

Ten People Assessed by Paramedics

B.C. Emergency Health Services said multiple emergency crews were dispatched to the scene.

Two ambulances with primary care paramedics, two link and referral units, a paramedic supervisor and an area manager responded.

“Paramedics assessed a total of 10 patients, including two patients who were transported to hospital in stable condition,” said BCEHS spokesperson Brian Twaites.

Prince George Fire Rescue also responded, describing the incident as a serious motor vehicle collision involving an aircraft.

RCMP Cpl. Jennifer Cooper said emergency responders were continuing to triage the scene following what she described as a highly dynamic incident.

“We do know that two cars were also involved in this dynamic situation,” Cooper said.

“It would have been impossible for drivers to necessarily predict and make emergency manoeuvres from this.”

Witness Describes Plane Coming Down on Road

Witness Mohit Arora said he had just turned onto Foothills Boulevard when the aircraft suddenly descended onto the roadway.

“Within a millisecond the plane comes on the road, and the left wing of the plane got struck with a pickup truck, that person got hit with the wing of the plane,” Arora said.

He said the pickup driver appeared to have been injured but survived.

Arora said the aircraft came to a stop only a short distance in front of his own vehicle, with the propeller narrowly missing him.

“It was just stopped like 10 feet ahead from my car. I am so lucky that the fan and the blades did not hit my car,” he said.

“It’s trauma, like, for me, it was a very bad experience.”

Images taken at the scene showed a small passenger aircraft beside the road with substantial damage.

One propeller appeared to have broken off and was lying on the roadway, while damage was also visible to at least one of the aircraft’s wings.

A yellow vehicle could be seen off the road, while a pickup truck appeared to have aircraft debris lodged through its front windshield.

Transportation Safety Board Takes Over Investigation

The Transportation Safety Board said the aircraft involved was a Beech King Air 200.

The federal agency is deploying a team of investigators to Prince George to examine the circumstances surrounding the emergency landing and collision.

RCMP said the Transportation Safety Board will take over the investigation.

Foothills Boulevard was closed in both directions following the incident and was expected to remain closed overnight and into Friday.

Police urged members of the public to avoid the area while investigators and emergency crews continued working at the scene.

News

Stay updated with the latest BC news stories, subscribe to our newsletter today.

SUBSCRIBE

LINKS

Ethics