RADILIH KOE'/FORT GOOD HOPE - A pilot is dead following a collision on the Fort Good Hope runway last week.

William Bleach died May 23 in Edmonton, three days after a single-engine plane on the Fort Good Hope airstrip flew into him. A colleague described the North Wright pilot as soft spoken and friendly. - photo courtesy of Facebook.com

William Bleach, 26, originally from Ontario, died May 23 as the result of injuries sustained on the tarmac after a single-engine Cessna 207 collided with him.

Bleach, a pilot with North Wright Airways Ltd, was on the ground and the plane was flying at the time of the collision, said Sgt. Wayne Norris, spokesman for the RCMP G division.

Police were called to scene around 8 p.m. on Thursday night and found nurses assisting Bleach, who they say had suffered serious head injuries.

He was medavaced to a hospital in Edmonton where he later died.

Norris said the investigation is ongoing but no charges have been laid.

Originally from Guelph, Bleach graduated from Sault College's aviation-flight technology program in Sault St. Marie, Ont., in 2007.

Doug Louison, who works at Fort Good Hope airport as an observer and communicator, said Bleach was well liked and will be missed.

"He was soft spoken. Bill was easy going, easy to get along with," he said. "He was friendly and somebody everyone liked to talk to."

He said Bleach, who worked out of Norman Wells, had been stationed in Fort Good Hope for a few weeks this spring, and had spent several months in the community last year.

Louison wasn't at work Thursday night and said he wasn't sure what exactly what happened.

"I guess the investigation is ongoing," he said.

Officials at North Wright Airways in Norman Wells were unavailable to comment by press time.

In a Civil Aviation Occurrence Report filed by Ron Ridley, of Transport Canada's Prairie and Northern office, the incident was listed as an accident and the report said there was an "alleged Canadian Aviation Regulations infraction."

Norris said the RCMP are assisting Transport Canada with the investigation and determining if criminal charges need to be laid. The NWT Workers Safety and Compensation Commission is also involved in the investigation.

More than 300 people joined the facebook group "In Loving Memory of William Bleach."