Small plane crash-lands into supermarket parking lot in Nelson
2 people on the aircraft were taken to hospital with minor injuries
A small plane crash-landed into a supermarket parking lot in Nelson, B.C., on Monday morning, according to the city's fire service.
Nelson Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Michael Daloise says the pilot and passenger were taken to hospital with minor injuries. The wing of the plane clipped a vehicle in the parking lot, he added, but it was empty and nobody else was hurt.
In Nelson, the airstrip runs parallel to a road that separates the airport and the Wholesale Club.
"The pilot was attempting to land and experienced some challenges," said Daloise. He said a gust of wind appears to have sent the plane off the runway, through a field of grass, through a fence and across a road before it ended up in the store's parking lot.
Daloise says the plane didn't catch fire because the pilot was able to turn off all the electronics before exiting.
Nelson Fire and Rescue says there was a fuel leak, but it's under control.
Nelson resident Fiona Richards was with friends drinking coffee on her front porch, from where the airstrip is visible, when they saw the crash landing.
She said they saw the small plane land when a gust of wind lifted it up from under its right wing.
"The next thing I knew, the plane had spun around and flipped over," she said. "It was a real shock … I've never seen anything like that."
She said the plane rolled in what seemed like a cartwheel, from top to tail.
"I remember seeing the entire underside of the plane on its wing," she said.
She added that it had been a very windy day in Nelson.
The Transportation Safety Board has been alerted and has completed an initial investigation.