Two people suffered non-life threatening injuries when their floater plane made an emergency landing into the Ottawa River early Saturday afternoon.
It happened at around 12:30 p.m. on the Ottawa River in Gatineau's Masson-Angers district.
"I noticed...a red and white plane very low to the water, and it seemed to be turning, then the wing went down into the water," said Mary Lou Lalonde, who saw the plane crash from outside her home across the street.
Gatineau police say a 71-year-old man was flying the plane, and a 27-year-old man was in the passenger seat.
"From the information we're getting, the relation between the two is a teacher and student, but they were not in a teaching mode today, they just went out for a plane ride," said Sgt. J-P Lemay with the Gatineau Police.
Lemay said he believed the 71-year-old man is a pilot instructor and that the plane had just taken off from the river.
He is crediting the quick thinking of nearby boaters for rushing to the scene of the crash and rescuing the two men inside the plane.
"I don't know if it's too early to talk about heroic acts, but one thing is for sure, there was immediate action taken by the boaters," he said. "I’m sure that … contributed to the non-threatening injuries we’re talking about.”
Emergency crews from both Ottawa and Gatineau attended the scene.
The plane ended up sinking, but firefighters on scene were able to mark it with a buoy before it went down, so they can locate it for further investigation.
"Later on we'll see what happens with the plane," Lemay said. "How we will recuperate it and who will have that responsibility."
Police say it's still too early to determine what caused the crash.
