CENTRE WELLINGTON – A Quad City Challenger II ultralight aircraft has been removed from Belwood Lake after the aircraft and a pilot crash-landed into the lake on the evening of July 24.
The pilot was brought to shore by staff from YMCA Camp Belwood with minor injuries and transported to a hospital as a precaution after being assessed by paramedics.
Centre Wellington Fire and Rescue Services deputy chief Jonathan Karn told the Advertiser the department’s boat was deployed into the Grand River Conservation Area (GRCA) lake and an anchor hooked onto the wreckage 35 feet below the water’s surface with a buoy marking its location at the top.
A privately-registered Quad City Challenger II ultralight aircraft, similar in appearance to the one pictured, crash-landed into Belwood Lake on July 24. The aircraft has since been recovered. Image in public domain
Staff from the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) attended the lake to meet with GRCA staff last week.
“The pilot reported the plane was carrying approximately 18.75 litres of fuel in a sealed tank with a very low risk of leaking,” ministry spokesperson Gary Wheeler stated in an email.
Though firefighters reported what they believed to be a “hydrocarbon sheen” on the surface water, Wheeler said the ministry believes the sheen was caused by liquids on the plane’s exterior or organic matter disturbed from the bottom of the lake on impact.
The spokesperson said staff from the ministry’s Guelph office would stay in contact with the GRCA “regarding the recovery of the plane and monitor the situation to ensure that there are no further environmental concerns during the recovery process.”
According to GRCA spokesperson Cam Linwood, the aircraft was removed from the lake on July 27.
“The retrieval and removal of the aircraft was coordinated by the registered owner,” Linwood wrote.
“During the removal all fuel was contained and there was no spill or impact to the lake,” Wheeler confirmed.
