Pilots safe after plane goes down: sources
Dehcho grand chief was on morning flight to Nahanni Butte that failed to make it back to Fort Simpson
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Thursday, November 24, 2016
DEH CHO
A pilot and co-pilot flying back to Fort Simpson are alive and safe after the Wolverine Air Piper Navajo plane they were flying in went down after dropping off passengers in Nahannie Butte, sources say.
Herb Norwegian: Dehcho grand chief took plane to Nahanni Butte before it went down on the way back to Fort Simpson. - NNSL file photo
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One of those passengers was Dehcho Grand Chief Herb Norwegian, who flew out earlier in the morning accompanied by ministerial special representative Anne Marie Doyle. Doyle is visiting all communities in the Deh Cho in order to relay their concerns with Dehcho Process negotiations to the federal and territorial governments.
Speaking to the Deh Cho Drum from Nahanni Butte, Norwegian said he and his fellow passengers are safe and are just trying to secure a ride back out of Nahanni Butte.
"We came in with a twin-engine plane from Wolverine Air today at 11 a.m., landed here, and then the plane went back to Simpson and crashed," Norwegian said.
"I don't know what happened."
Norwegian said after learning about the incident, he broke the news to his fellow passengers.
"I'm just really freaked out right now, and (so are) the people who are travelling with me," he said.
The eight-seater aircraft went down near a lake approximately 17 kilometres out of Fort Simpson, sources say.
Members of Fort Simpson's fire department took a helicopter to the scene at some point between 11 a.m. and noon the morning of Nov. 23. The weather was sunny and cold with a temperature of -25 C, according to Environment Canada.
The plane was not carrying passengers and only the pilot and co-pilot were on board.
Jacques Harvey, the owner of Wolverine Air, was not immediately available to confirm details or comment on the situation.
