A sailplane and a Cessna 150 collided in midair near Pemberton, British Columbia, on Saturday killing four people, Canadian authorities said. About the same time, a glider crash near San Diego left two people dead.
The accident in Pemberton, about 100 miles north of Vancouver, occurred at midday, said Navy Lt. Greg Menzies, public affairs officer for the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Victoria.
Rescuers sent to the scene found debris and determined that two people aboard the glider and two in the Cessna 150 had been killed, Menzies said. He said the identities of the victims had not been released pending notificiation of next of kin. A dog also died in the collision, but it was unclear which aircraft it had been aboard, the Province reported.
The crash occurred above Nairn Falls Provincial Park, which was full of campers, but no one on the ground was hurt, authorities said. An image on CTV’s website showed aircraft debris in heavy timber. Menzies said the crash would be investigated by Canada’s Transportation Safety Board.
Meanwhile, in California, two people aboard a glider were killed in a crash about 12:30 p.m. near the Jacumba airport about 75 miles east of San Diego along the Mexico border, NBCSanDiego.com reported. The Allstar PZL glider was registered to the Associated Glider Clubs of Southern California, according to the FAA. Details of the incident were not immediately available.
The clubs' website says the group was set to fly in Jacumba all weekend, NBCSanDiego.com reported. A photo of the glider that crashed is shown in an earlier flight.
