NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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RAMARA TOWNSHIP, ON - On Wednesday July 12, 2017, at approximately 3:30 p.m., officers from the Orillia Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), Rama Police Service, Rama Fire Rescue Service and the Ramara Fire and Rescue Service, along with the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services responded to a report of a downed aircraft on Lake St. John
From the initial investigation that followed, police have determined that the aircraft was attempting to land on the water near the Lake St. John Regional Airport when from reasons unknown at this time, it flipped over.
Nearby homeowners who witnessed the crash immediately responded in their own boats and rescued two males who were on board the aircraft and took them to shore where emergency services personnel had gathered. The males have since been transported to a local hospital and are being treated for injuries which are described as serious, but non-life threatening.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has been notified and will also be assisting with the ongoing investigation, however the plane has since sunk and arrangements are now underway to have the plane raised to the surface.
Further details including the exact make and model of plane that was involved will be provided as the investigation continues and once the water recovery is made.
Emergency Services personnel who attended this incident wish to recognize the quick thinking and speedy response of nearby property owners and cottagers who rushed to the scene and no doubt prevented this from potentially ending in a tragedy.
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