Family tells CTV News an 82-year-old Kanata man is the victim in Sunday's mid-air plane crash in Carp.
The incident happened around 10 a.m. in the area of McGee Side Road. The victim's Cessna 150 collided with a larger piper twin-engine piloted by a Carp airport employee. The employee's young son was also on board. That plane made an emergency landing at the Ottawa International Airport, and both escaped injury.
Small airports like the Carp Airport are in what's called uncontrolled airspace. It means there is no air traffic control, so pilots must talk to each other.
Former Transportation Safety Board investigator Larry Vance says mid-air collisions are extremely rare. "Obviously they didn't see each other or if they did it was too late. They''ll find out from the investigation if both of them were doing what they were supposed to be doing. I would imagine that somebody was a little bit outside the norm," Vance said.
Vance also says one of the planes had low wings, and the other had high wings. If stacked in the air, it may have been enough to create blindspots for the pilots.
The victim's family says the man was mentally and physically fit. He also had a passion for flying and safety was his priority.
This is the second major crash in Carp in a month. A Toronto pilot was hurt after crashing minutes after take-off on October 16, nearly missing a home.
Ottawa Police have re-opened the closed section of McGee Side Road between the WB off-ramp of the highway 417 and William Mooney Road.
The Transportation Safety Board is expected to give an update on Tuesday morning.
