FLOATPLANE ACCIDENT

There was a Floatplane accident this afternoon. It involved a Floatplane (Beaver) from Tofino Air. It appears the plane was coming in for a landing when It was struck by a boat! This is the first time I have ever heard of anything like this happening and I’ve been flying on floatplanes now for 40 years!

My sister in law came all the way out from Ontario to visit me. She had her sister and friends with her. They were the ones on board when this happened. Nobody was hurt but they did submerge and get hypothermic. She lost all her electronics as well.

I took video and stills of the plane being loaded onto a barge. Now the investigation begins to find out why this happened?

Sunset Flight

I caught him coming in at sunset.
There is a harbour sand spit between him and me.

Approaching the Moon

I was lucky to look over my shoulder and realize that he was lining up perfectly for a Moon shot!

Underside

He went right over top of me at sunset and I couldn’t resist from shooting and I’m glad I did.

Tofino Sunset Flight

They always look so beautiful silhouetted!

Sunset Take Off

I shot this from the rear as he was taking off.

Take Off

I shot this a few weeks ago.(May 5th) I like the angle and yes ,it unfortunately was the plane involved in that terrible accident.

Taking Off

They were taking off in the harbour and I shot a few.
Following , are a series of shots I have taken through the years of Atleo Air.
It pains me to show them ,but I hope by doing so ,honor the souls lost to all of us!
Peace

Note:the dates are not true.(except the barge shots) I can keep them all together this way.

Aerial Flight

I went up with Atleo last October 3rd and this is the only shot I have showing anything of the plane. I always try not to get any of the plane in my shots when I go up.

Putting Plane Back In

Jay had the plane serviced and was putting it back into the water. You can see him waving from his boat.
He takes such good care of his planes.

Sea Lion on Atleo’s Dock

I came by and acouple Sea Lion’s had decided to haul out on Atleo’s dock.
A happy couple is watching the Sea Lion’s and the sunset from a safe vantage point.

Damon

Damon was coming back from dropping off the folks in the shot below.
The sun was just setting and the light was very warm.

Cosmic Irony

Irony of all irony’s.
This is the plane that went down and that is the barge in the background that brought it back to Tofino.
I shot this in July 17th/08.

Damon Landing

The sun was just setting and I caught Damon landing at just the right moment.
The planes dashboard hides him alittle,but he’s peeking over at me at this moment.

Barge Coming Back to Tofino

This barge went out with a crane and picked up the wreckage. They found the plane in about 45 feet of water.
It was a very sad day today and the weather reflected that.
The Native village,Opitsat can be seen on Meares Island in the background.

Coming Home

The barge was going slowly through Tofino’s harbour.
The plane was under the blue tarp.
Tofino has had a few deaths this year. Very unfortunate.

Preparing To Unload

They docked and were preparing to lift.
The RCMP boat was cruising in the background and a news crew was filming in the bottom right foreground.

Unloading Pontoons

The first lift was the pontoons.

Pontoons

They put the Pontoons on a flatbed,wrapped it and they were gone in minutes.
The Pontoons are upside down right now.
Notice how the right hand pontoon is bent and the left is not.
I also noticed that about 3 feet of the pontoons nose is gone.

Unloading of Main Fuselage

The second lift was the motor and the third was the main fuselage.

Main Fuselage

Loading of Main Fuselage onto Flatbed

Atleo Air Floatplane

I took this a few weeks ago, May 5th to be exact. This is the plane that was in that terrible accident yesterday!
It should of been tied up last night,but was not there.
I went up in this plane last fall to shoot some sunset aerials.
The company has always been very professional.

Atleo Air Floatplane

I shot this last December (2nd) in the cold early morning light. They were heading out.
(the posted date is not the true date)
This is the time that they flew in front of the moon. That shot is above. (“Atleo Air and the Full Moon”)The warm light adds to both shots.
I was out to shoot the full moon setting in the early morning light over the harbour. I always wait for subjects to enter into my set scene and Atleo came along at the right moment.I did a series of shots and the final shot was of the plane with the full moon setting in front of them.
I would like to end the story on that note, because that is the way I want to remember it….

Sad Sunset

Today was a very sad day for Tofino.
A local Float plane went down and 4 people died.
The pilot(from Tofino) and three passengers from Ahousaht. The accident happened today around noon near the village of Ahousaht. Yates point to be exact,just south of the village.The plane sank in about 45 feet of water
This shot shows the sun setting over Tofino’s Harbour .
There should be two Float Planes tied up in the foreground.
A very sad day for many!