Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are expected to arrive in Pukatawagan today to lead the probe into the fatal plane crash yesterday that killed a 56-year-old man from Opaskwayak Cree Nation.
The passenger was killed when a small commercial aircraft went off the end of the 3,000-foot crushed rock surface runway around 4 p.m. and there was an ensuing fire, RCMP said.
The Manitoba Department of Infrastructure and Transportation's Northern Airports and Marine Operations division operate the Pukatawagan Airport (ZFG).
Pukatawagan is about 210 kilometres north of The Pas.
Sgt. Line Karpish, an RCMP media spokesperson for "D" Division in Winnipeg, said there were eight passengers and a pilot on board the aircraft.
Initial investigation by RCMP found the aircraft had gone off the end of the runway during takeoff, and there was an ensuing fire. The runway is 85 feet wide and 3,000 feet long.
"RCMP Pukatawagan members remain at the scene of the plane crash," she said this morning. "The investigation will continue lead by the Transportation Safety Board upon their arrival expected today."
Police are not releasing the name of the dead passenger, Karpish said.
RCMP said the remainder of the occupants on board the plane were transported to Winnipeg for medical treatment relating to non-life threatening injuries, said Karpish.
