A two-engine Beech Baron pilot has survived the crash of his small plane near Thompson after giving the Thompson Airport a ring on his cell phone to report the aircraft had suffered a complete electrical failure.
Using his cell phone, the pilot said he was about 10 minutes from the airfield, but the twin-engine plane crashed soon after.
The Beech 95-55 plane was returning to Thompson from Thicket Portage when the aircraft experienced electrical problems, said Peter Hildebrand, of the Transportation Safety Board.The plane had previously dropped off passengers at Thicket Portage and had experienced some electrical problems at the time.
The pilot tried to divert the aircraft to Pikwitonei, but crashed east of the airport. The plane sustained significant damage.
The man, who was the only person on board, was picked up by a civilian helicopter and taken to Thompson General Hospital with minor injuries.
Canadian Forces search and rescue operations sent up a military Hercules search aircraft and civilian helicopter with a paramedic on board.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent a team to the crash site to investigate.
The Thompson Airport is located 10 kilometres northwest of the city. It was developed originally by the International Nickel Company in 1961 to support their mining operations and had one 3,000-foot runway. The main paved runway is 5,800 feet in length now and most recently rebuilt in 2006 with more work scheduled for later this year.
Inco transferred ownership of Thompson Airport to Transport Canada in 1963. It has since been operated by the Local Government District of Mystery Lake, and in March 2000 ownership was taken over by the Thompson Regional Airport Authority, a non-profit organization formed in 1999 when Transport Canada wished to turn over ownership of the Thompson Airport to a local authority.
