Two injured, one critically, in plane crash at Mill Bay

Two people have been transported to hospital after a small plane crashed Monday afternoon near Mill Bay.

B.C. Emergency Services was called about 1:25 p.m. after the aircraft, a privately owned six-seat Beech G36 Bonanza, crashed in a residential neighbourhood on Hayden Place. The aircraft was flying from Sechelt to Victoria.

Six ground and two air ambulances were initially dispatched to the scene, where paramedics cared for two patients.

One patient was transported by ground ambulance to hospital in serious but stable condition.

The second patient was airlifted to a higher level of care facility in critical condition.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it is still gathering information and assessing the incident to determine its next steps.

Ken Gallant, vice-president of operations for the Victoria Airport Authority, said the airport received a mayday call around 1:20 p.m. from a small aircraft experiencing engine problems.

“Our fire department and aircraft fire rescue got into response mode and then we were notified the aircraft wasn’t going to come,” he said, noting they had been told the pilot was instead going to attempt to land on a grass strip in the Mill Bay area.

According to website Flightradar24.com, which tracks aircraft movements in real time and allows playback of flights, the aircraft was cruising at 4,650 feet with a ground speed of 152 knots as it passed Chemainus and then gradually reduced altitude to 3,200 feet by Crofton and 2,000 feet as it passed over Cowichan Bay.

The tracker shows the flight ended in Mill Bay in what looks to be a wooded area.