Critical injuries in plane crash on Highway 401 near Cornwall, Ont.
Two occupants of a small plane were seriously injured when it crashed into the Highway 401 median near Cornwall, Ont. Monday night.
Officials said the Cessna 150 was attempting an emergency landing on the highway west of the Ontario-Quebec border, near Lancaster, Ont. Police said the plane crashed into the highway's centre median in front of the Bainesville ONRoute.
A 26-year-old man was taken to hospital by air ambulance in life-threatening condition, OPP acting Sgt. Erin Cranton said. The other occupant of the plane, a 39-year-old man, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Cranton said police were called to the scene just before 8:15 p.m. Monday. The plane took off from the Salaberry-de-Valleyfield Airport in Quebec, on the south bank of the St. Lawrence River about 17 kilometres east of where the crash happened.
The federal Transportation Safety Board is helping with the investigation and has deployed a team of investigators to the scene. Isabelle Langevin, the TSB's director of regional operations for Quebec, said the plane had a problem in the air.
"They attemped to do an emergency landing on the 401," she said. "While lining up to land on the highway they struck a power line that crosses the highway south to north at that particular spot and following that collision, the aircraft collided with the ground."
The highway was closed for about eight hours for the crash. It reopened around 4:15 a.m. Tuesday.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre based in Trenton, Ont. is also helping with the investigation.
Hydro crews were also on site because some wires were struck.
Images from the scene showed emergency crews, hydro vehicles and tow trucks assembled at the Bainsville ONRoute, on the north side of Highway 401.
A Cessna 150 is a small two-seater, single-engine plane. It was produced for about 20 years from the late 1950s to the late 1970s.
Jean-Yves Chevalier, a local pilot who has been flying for more than two decades, said he thinks the flight was a training flight, for which Cessnas are commonly used.
"Normally you are never lower than 1,000 feet over populated areas and 500 feet over wild areas," he said. "For them to be this low, they had to be landing for some mechanical reason."
He said the Cessnas are generally "very, very easy to fly," which is why they are used for training. The plane was right near Lancaster Airpark, a small landing strip, but since it's not lit at night they would not have been able to use it.
"They were expecting a normal emergency landing," Chevalier said. "They would not have expected to hit wires. ... When you hit wires, usually the airplane will flip and then it's just dropping.
"I just hope they recover soon."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. tenants evicted for landlord's use after refusing large rent increase to take over neighbouring suite
Ashley Dickey and her mother rented part of the same Coquitlam duplex in three different decades under three different landlords.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
Expert warns of food consumption habits amid rising prices
A new survey by Dalhousie University's Agri-Food Analytics Lab asked Canadians about their food consumption habits amid rising prices.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Charlie Woods, son of Tiger, shoots 81 in U.S. Open qualifier
Charlie Woods failed to advance in a U.S. Open local qualifying event Thursday, shooting a 9-over 81 at Legacy Golf & Tennis Club.
Ex-tabloid publisher testifies he scooped up possibly damaging tales to shield his old friend Trump
As Donald Trump was running for president in 2016, his old friend at the National Enquirer was scooping up potentially damaging stories about the candidate and paying out tens of thousands of dollars to keep them from the public eye.
Here's why provinces aren't following Saskatchewan's lead on the carbon tax home heating fight
After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the federal government would still send Canada Carbon Rebate cheques to Saskatchewan residents, despite Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe's decision to stop collecting the carbon tax on natural gas or home heating, questions were raised about whether other provinces would follow suit. CTV News reached out across the country and here's what we found out.
Montreal actress calls Weinstein ruling 'discouraging' but not surprising
A Montreal actress, who has previously detailed incidents she had with disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, says a New York Court of Appeals decision overturning his 2020 rape conviction is 'discouraging' but not surprising.
Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels and Drake Maye make it four NFL drafts with quarterbacks going 1-3
Caleb Williams is heading to the Windy City, aiming to become the franchise quarterback Chicago has sought for decades.