Lynn Lau
Northern News Services

Herschel Island, Yukon (June 17/02) - One person was taken to hospital while a passenger and pilot escaped injury after the Cessna 185 they were in crashed during a takeoff from Herschel Island Thursday.

The accident happened shortly before 4:50 p.m., during a crew change for Herschel Island Territorial Park, 256 kilometres northwest of Inuvik, in the Yukon.

Willard Hagen, owner of Beaudel Air, said the plane's rear tire clipped some driftwood as it was taking off from a sand spit, and the nose of the craft hit the ground.

The group phoned for help with a satellite phone and was picked up by helicopter, which returned to Inuvik around 9 p.m. The injured man suffered a broken nose and bruised ribs and was still in hospital at press time.

Hagen said the experienced pilot was probably just having a bad day.

"We do all bush flying and it's got inherent risks that go with it," he said. "You're landing with no runways, on tundra, snow or water. In 25 years, we bent a few airplanes, but we've never injured anybody."