St. John’s – Search and rescue efforts are ongoing after a small aircraft crashed into the Atlantic Ocean early Tuesday morning, approximately 130 nautical miles (240 kilometres) east of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
The aircraft, identified as an Air Tractor AT-802, went down around 8:40 a.m., according to an email statement from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) received by CBC News early Tuesday afternoon.
Initially reported to have departed from the United States, the TSB later clarified the plane had taken off from St. John’s International Airport and was being ferried overseas to Portugal. The aircraft’s flight plan listed the Azores — a remote island chain in the North Atlantic — as its destination.
Lieutenant-Commander Len Hickey of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax confirmed the aircraft had only one person on board — a male pilot. He said an emergency beacon signal triggered the launch of a coordinated response involving several air and sea units.
“Search crews spotted one of the aircraft’s pontoons floating on the surface, along with an orange life raft… The Cormorant helicopter confirmed that the life raft was empty, and there was some debris in the vicinity.” -Len Hickey
Later in the day, an oil slick was also discovered near the crash site. “It helps piece the story together a bit,” said Hickey, noting that worsening weather conditions are now complicating the search effort. As of Tuesday evening, cloud ceilings had dropped to 200 feet, and visibility was reported as poor.
Multiple search assets are currently involved in the operation, including a Hercules transport aircraft, a Cormorant search-and-rescue helicopter, a Cougar helicopter, a PAL Airlines aircraft, a Canadian Coast Guard vessel, and two nearby fishing boats.
These teams are expected to remain on scene through the night and will reassess conditions Wednesday morning.
Source: CBC News