Yellowknife (Aug 18/06) - A pilot and five passengers from the Sahtu died in a plane crash Wednesday.

RCMP say the plane was a North-Wright Airways Cessna 337 travelling to Norman Wells from Fort Good Hope.

Sgt. Larry O'Brien, media liaison for the RCMP, said the victims' names have not yet been released.

He said family members have been called to identify the bodies in Norman Wells.

Two of the victims have been identified by friends and family members as Farrah Grandjambe, 17, and Alfred Masuzumi, a popular storyteller, from Fort Good Hope. The pilot was Gordon Macleod. While the the victims' ages and genders have not been officially released, they are known to be from the Sahtu region.

O'Brien said they were flying home from funerals for two Fort Good Hope men who recently died in a boating accident on the Mackenzie River.

"This certainly compounds the tragedy for the family," he said.

According to the Department of Transportation, the plane was first reported missing at 2:50 p.m., Aug. 16.

A search party consisting of emergency medical transport planes, North-Wright aircraft and local helicopters was launched shortly afterwards.

David James, operations manager for North-Wright airlines, said company planes found the wreckage after an Emergency Locator Transmitter signal was detected.

RCMP reached the wreckage in an isolated mountain region at 5:20 p.m. but found no survivors.

James said the pilot was an experienced and reliable airman, who had been employed by North-Wright for two-and-a-half years.

"There has never been anything like this in the history of the company," he said.

O'Brien said Transport Safety Board investigators are now responsible for determining the cause of the crash. He said they will visit the scene and try to find clues in the wreckage.

"It's their investigation now," he said.

James said the plane crashed during a spell of bad weather.

"There were showers and strong winds," he said.

James added that all North-Wright flights will continue as scheduled, going between Fort Good Hope and Norman Wells six days a week.

He said the company has an obligation to keep flying in order to keep communities connected.

"We will no doubt be flying relatives to the funeral so they can mourn," he said.