We end the week and start the new month with the following stories...
Have a safe weekend!
Tom
Small plane with 3 aboard crashes west of Ottawa airport
2 people rescued from plane, condition of 3rd person remains unclear
CBC News
A small aircraft with three people aboard crashed
down in Ottawa just west of the city's airport on Thursday evening.
It happened shortly before 6 p.m. in the area of Riverside Drive and West Hunt Club Road. A photo shared by one resident showed a plane wedged in the trees.
Emergency services responded at 5:55 p.m., according to the Ottawa Paramedic Service. One man and one woman were rescued from the plane and taken to the hospital in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
Marc Antoine Deschamps, a spokesperson for the paramedic service, said it took a significant effort by emergency services to rescue those two people from the plane.
A third person remained onboard and their condition could not be confirmed yet, he added.
The Transportation Safety Board Canada (TSB) said it has two investigators at the scene. The plane involved was a privately-registered Grumman AA-5A, the agency confirmed.
The Ottawa Airport Fire Service also responded to the crash and operations at the airport remained normal, according to the Ottawa International Airport Authority.
Residents heard, saw crash
Greg Carter lives on an offshoot of Riverside Drive where the plane went down in the bush. He said he was out for a walk when the plane crashed around 30 metres behind him.
"I heard a loud crash, sounded like a tree falling but a bit more intense," he said. "It got hung up in the power lines."
He said he saw the power line arcing, flashing and making popping noises.
The lines were live at the time of the crash, confirmed fire services, but Hydro Ottawa turned the power off before the rescue began.
He was unsure what had hit the trees behind him. But as he approached, he could see the plane suspended in the air.
"I could see inside the cabin and I could see one person in the right seat and one person in the back seat, but I could not see the pilot seat," he said.
Pablo Coles also lives nearby.
He saw the plane approach the area at a low altitude and called 911 as soon as he heard a bang, which he feared was the plane crashing into a neighbour's house.
Coles ran into the street and saw instead that the plane was "hung up in the trees and power lines."
A lot of gasoline leaked from the scene, he said. The fire department said it was working to mitigate fuel spillage from the crash into a nearby creek that leads to the Rideau River.
"We are applying that foam to the fuel where there is a runoff," said Ottawa Fire Services public information officer Nick DeFazio.
Coles also saw the man being escorted by emergency workers from the plane.
"I am very sad for the people inside," he said.
With files from Kim Drummond, Nkele Martin and Guy Quenneville
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/plane-crash-west-ottawa-airport-riverside-drive-1.7599186
Plane’s emergency landing temporarily shuts down Upper Peninsula highway
By Jackie Smith | jsmith@mlive.com
UPDATE: M-28 was closed outside Munising for several hours Thursday before the plane was towed to Hanley Field Airport in Wetmore.
MUNISING TOWNSHIP, MI - A plane made an
emergency landing that temporarily closed a section of a state highway for several hours in Alger County on Thursday.
The Michigan State Police Eighth District reported that M-28 near Star Siding Road was temporarily shut down in both directions as of 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, in a central area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It was not clear what time the landing was made.
By 9 p.m., the roadway had been reopened.
Police said there were no injuries involved in the landing, and that the pilot made the call after an engine blew mid-flight.
Troopers responded to the scene, along with the Alger County Sheriff’s Office and Munising Fire Department.
According to an image provided by MSP, the plane had a specific tail number that tied it to a Pitts Model 12 aircraft, a small high-performance aerobatic biplane with registered flights around the Midwest, and an air show stunt pilot.
The pilot could not be immediatley reached for comment Thursday night.
Police said the plane was eventually loaded on to a flatbed tow truck, and that it was escorted to Hanley Field Airport in Wetmore.
Further information was not immediately available.
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/08/planes-emergency-landing-temporarily-shuts-down-upper-peninsula-highway.html
NTSB Prelim: Faust 3
Wings Subsequently Struck The Water Before The Airplane Came To A Stop, Which Resulted In Substantial Damage
Location: Harrison, MT Accident Number: WPR25LA200
Date & Time: June 30, 2025, 12:00 Local Registration: N5901V
Aircraft: Faust 3 Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On June 30, 2025, about 1200 mountain daylight time, an experimental amateur built Faust 3, N5901V, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Harrison, Montana. The pilot and passenger were not injured.
The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot reported that he was performing a water landing in the float equipped airplane on Willow Creek Reservoir near Harrison. Shortly after touch down, the airplane pulled to the left. The wings subsequently struck the water before the airplane came to a stop, which resulted in substantial damage to both wings.
The airplane was recovered from the water and retained for further examination.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
77 Years ago today: On 1 August 1948 Air France flight AF072, a Latécoère 631 flying boat, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 52 occupants.
| Date: | Sunday 1 August 1948 |
| Time: | 01:30 |
| Type: | Latécoère 631 |
| Owner/operator: | Air France |
| Registration: | F-BDRC |
| MSN: | 6 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1947 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 35 hours |
| Engine model: | Wright R-2600-A5B Cyclone |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 52 / Occupants: 52 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Aircraft missing, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | c 1900 km W off Dakar, Senegal - Atlantic Ocean |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Fort de France Hydrobase |
| Destination airport: | Port-Étienne Airport (NDB/GQPP) |
Narrative:
Air France flight AF072, a Latécoère 631 flying boat, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 52 occupants.
The Latécoère 631 flying boat, named "Lionel de Marnier", operated on a round trip service from Biscarrosse, France to Fort de France, Martinique, with a refueling stop at Port-Etienne, Mauritania.
At 15:05 the aircraft took off on the first leg of the return flight. The cruising altitude was 3000 meters in instrument weather conditions. Planned flying time from Fort de France to Port-Étienne was 16 hours and 15 minutes.
Hourly position reports were made until 00:11 UTC when it reported passing 1927N, 3825W. No contact was established with the flight and the aircraft failed to arrive.
A search mission was commenced using a submarine, three ships, a Lockheed Constellation, a Latécoère 631, three B-17's and seven B-29's. On August 6 a U.S. Coast Guard cutter, USCGC Campbell, reported finding two aircraft seats at 18°17N, 17°00W. The Campbell and another ship collected several other smaller pieces of debris before the search was called off on August 8.
The aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean some 1900 km west off Dakar, Senegal.
Conclusions: "The members of the committee are unanimous in attributing the accident to a serious and sudden event whose origin could not be verified with certainty."
