TOFINO, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — Derek Michaels was walking along Long Beach in Tofino, B.C., when he saw a small plane appearing to struggle after takeoff, making sharp turns with a plume of smoke trailing behind one of its engines.
He said it then took a nosedive and disappeared behind a tree line, before "a big puff of smoke" rose from where the plane appeared to go down.
"About 15 minutes later we heard the ambulance and fire trucks," said Michaels, in Tofino for a vacation with his family. "I went in my truck and I drove up to the airport and that's when I noticed that the plane was just in flames and there was people around and paramedics."
RCMP said in a statement that two people died and a third person was seriously injured in the crash at Tofino's Long Beach Airport, next to the beach on Thursday.
Tofino RCMP said they were called to the scene at 12:48 p.m. and information is limited but it appears the six-seat aircraft may have suffered an engine fire during takeoff.
Police said in a news release the injured person was pulled from the plane after it crashed on the runway and was taken to hospital.
The other two occupants died at the scene.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it has deployed a team of investigators.
It said the plane was a Cessna 421 Golden Eagle.
Michaels said the plane flew "pretty low" over them, about 200 feet, before the aircraft seemingly tried to return to the airport.
"We noticed something was wrong right away when it kind of straightened out over towards us because it was quite windy," he said.
"It was kind of pushing the plane from side to side as it was straightening out, but then my partner noticed that there was a little plume of smoke behind one of the engines and I guess it maybe had a failed engine or something like that."
Michaels said the speed the plane went down surprised them.
"We both even said 'Holy moly, that's quite the descent' because it literally descended really fast," he said. "I kind of thought something kind of happened because once you see something dive that fast and then you see the smoke ... it's not really a landing."
A video of the crash scene posted to social media by Tofino resident Chris Bedford shows a thick column of black smoke rising from the grounds of the airport.
Bedford said in an online message that his wife was waiting for a flight when she took the video after the crash.
Tofino RCMP said Thursday that officers are working with the Transportation Safety Board and the BC Coroners Service to determine the cause of Thursday's crash.
Anyone with any information about the crash has been asked to contact Tofino RCMP.
The airport is surrounded by the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.
-- By Darryl Greer in Vancouver
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2024.
The Canadian Press