Plane wreckage from 1992 crash found near Kapuskasing, Ont.

Up North8:41Plane wreckage found 32 years later near Kapuskasing

A plane disappeared near Kapuskasing in 1992, and 32 years later, the wreckage has been found.

The family of the couple who went missing after their plane crashed in northern Ontario more than 23 years ago is relieved the wreckage has finally been found.

James Bay OPP said the wreckage is from the single-engine plane reported missing on April 28, 1992. It was found in a remote area near the town of Kapuskasing.

At the time, the plane's occupants — Paul and Suzanne Joanis — were travelling to Hearst, Ont., from Toronto's Buttonville Airport after a business trip, said Achilles Joanis, Paul Joanis's brother.

"It was a bad night — wet rain, windy and everything — and he didn't make it to Hearst," he said. "The Kapuskasing airport had the contact on him and the last place was about the area they found him yesterday."

Joanis received news of the find Thursday night.

"I was really proud of the people that found him," he continued. "I had a bad sleep last night, but it is OK. I was really relieved [by] the fact that … we know what happened."

Fanny Joanis-Benoit, the couple's daughter, said the discovery of the place was "good news" and gives the family some relief after 23 years of wondering and waiting.

"We always knew we were going to get that call one day," she told CBC Radio's As It Happens. "But we didn't know when to expect it.

"They were extraordinary parents. They brought us up with love and care and we miss them daily."

No remains found

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending a team of investigators to the crash site. 

No remains have been found, Kapuskasing OPP Staff Sgt. Mike Pilon said.

"We've also, from the police perspective, engaged the coroner's office and will be looking for the couple, for human remains, if we can find any," he said. "Our investigation will be continuing from then on."

The crash was discovered by a contractor working for the forestry firm Tembec, which has logging operations in the area. The contractor was prepping the area for logging and came across plane debris in what Pilon described as a very remote location.

To get there, logging skidders and Argos, off-road vehicles, had to be used.

The OPP helicopter was sent in, and was able to identify the aircraft using its serial number as a reference.

The Transportation Safety Board will probe why the aircraft went down. Pilon said it was severely damaged and it may be difficult to determine the cause of the crash.

Contact was lost with the plane about 55 kilometres south of Kapuskasing. At the time, an extensive but unsuccessful search was undertaken. The air search lasted close to two weeks, before being scaled back to a ground search.

"Everyone was involved with the search," Joanis recalled. "It was wonderful. People are very generous here [in Hearst], it was unbelievable."

Joanis said his brother was well known and respected.

"His wife was in the hairdressing business and my younger brother Paul was in the boat business," he said.

Paul Joanis had about 10 years of flight experience, his brother said.

The couple had three children.

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