Local residents assisted in the search for a downed airplane that crashed southwest Moorefield, claiming four young lives last Friday night.
Harvey Bults arrived at his home on Sideroad 3 in Mapleton about five or 10 minutes after the crash. By that time, his son, Curtis, was out in the field on his four-wheeler ATV searching for the source of a loud sound heard by Curtis and Harvey’s wife, Heather.
“They had no idea what it was, they just heard a loud noise,” said Bults.
“At this point the dogs were barking and just going wild.”
Shortly afterward, Curtis returned from an unsuccessful search of the field and was preparing to leave for a ball game. Harvey was getting ready to go to the game as well, when neighbours Steve and Lori Nicholls, who had seen the plane coming down while out walking their dog, arrived at the Bults’ home.
“They said, ‘Heather you’ve got to call 911, a plane just crashed in your corn field.’ ”
After talking to the neighbours, Curtis headed back into the field to resume the search, which was soon joined by police and Mapleton firefighters responding to the 911 call that came in at 8:30pm, and other neighbours who had either seen or heard something related to the crash. Guelph-Wellington EMS also responded to the scene.
At about 10:20pm, after an extensive search of the area, a single engine, four-seater Cessna aircraft was located by some of the firefighters in the corn field.
At the request of police officials on the scene, Bults said he used his tractor to clear a path through the corn for emergency vehicles to follow.
All four occupants of the plane were pronounced dead at the scene. Bults said it was difficult for everyone to learn the fate of the plane’s passengers.
“You’re searching and you’re thinking and everyone’s hoping that we didn’t see what we thought we saw – because the plane went behind some trees and you hope that it got itself righted and got out of it’s spin.
“It was very unfortunate that it happened,” he said.
Police said information was received around 8:20pm from RCC (Rescue Coordination Centre) Trenton that a single-engine Cessna aircraft had disappeared off radar and an Emergency Transponder Signal had been activated but they were unable to identify the location.
Members of the West Region OPP Emergency Response Team and Canine Unit were called to the scene to assist with a ground search.
Killed in the crash were pilot Marko Misic, 20, of Toronto and three passengers, Mohammed Shahnawaz Zia, 23, of Toronto; Wasay Rizwan, 27, of Toronto and Victoria Margaret Luk, 19, of Mississauga.
All four victims were transported to Hamilton General Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada and local coroner Dr. John Vanderkooy attended the scene. They were assisted by members of the Wellington OPP Crime Unit and the West Region OPP Technical Identification Services Unit.
Preliminary investigation revealed the aircraft was rented from the Waterloo Wellington Flight Center (WWFC) and departed the Waterloo Region International Airport in Breslau at 6:10pm.
The plane was headed to Toronto, then Niagara Falls, before returning.
Transportation Safety Board investigator Ken Webster told the Advertiser the agency’s investigation is still in the early stages.
“We’ve brought the plane back to our facility in Richmond Hill for further investigation,” said Webster, adding representatives of the airplane manufacturer will assist with the investigation.
“We take a look at all the systems and the components,” and consider other factors, such as weather, while attempting to determine the cause of the crash, he explained. Webster said there is no set time frame for completing the investigation.
“We want to do as thorough an investigation as possible,” he stated.
However, he added, “If we uncover any serious safety deficiencies, we don’t wait for the final report. We publish the results to industry and safety regulators as soon as possible.”
Officials posted a statement on the WWFC website mourning the loss of the victims and calling Misic “a long time pilot” who was recently honoured as the centre’s top commercial pilot.
Instructors and staff remembered Misic as “a bright, enthusiastic and positive young man who loved aviation.”
