Pemberton RCMP are working with Transport Canada to figure out
what caused a Dec. 20 plane crash on Terra Rosa Glacier, 20 miles northeast of
Squamish.
At about 4:07 p.m. the RCMP received a report regarding a GPS
spot beacon activation. They later confirmed a plane had gone down near the
glacier in Garibaldi Provincial Park, according to an RCMP news release.
Another plane in the area made contact with the crashed plane
and discovered there were three people on board with adequate survival gear.
There were no injuries.
The plane was a Cessna 172, a high-wing aircraft that can
accommodate a total of four passengers. All three people on board the plane
were “plucked off” without further incident after the crash, according to
Captain Dave Bowes, air coordinator at Victoria’s Joint Rescue Coordination
Centre.
The Victoria JRCC first caught wind of the crash at about 2
p.m. in the afternoon. A Buffalo aircraft and Cormorant helicopter were
dispatched to help the downed passengers. The Buffalo and the Cormorant took
off at about 5 p.m., just as the sun was going down. Rescuers arrived on scene
just after 6 p.m. and were able to retrieve the passengers by about 7:30 p.m.
When asked why the plane crashed, Bowes said, “I don’t know. We
don’t ask why you crash, we rescue you.”
The JRCC did, at one point, request ground support from
Pemberton Search and Rescue but they were never tasked, according to Dave
Steers with Pemberton’s SAR.
RCMP are still trying to determine the cause of the crash.