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
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
BREAKING London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.