A pilot walked away without injuries after his plane flipped over and crashed near Fort McMurray Thursday.
The crash happened shortly after takeoff from the local airport, Wood Buffalo RCMP said.
“Usually when we have plane crashes the outcome isn’t as miraculous as this,” Cpl Terri-Ann Deobald said, “It’s a blessing that the pilot is uninjured.”
RCMP said the 1974 Cessna 185 took off from the Fort McMurray airport at 5.05 p.m. en route to the Wetaskiwin Airport.
But 10 to 15 minutes into the flight the pilot told police “the engine started running rough” and oil was splashing on the windshield of the aircraft.
The pilot made an emergency landing in a remote location about 46 kilometers south of Fort McMurray. After the Cessna flipped over on touchdown, the pilot called for help.
Fort McMurray’s Helicopter Emergency Response Organization Foundation, known as HERO, was immediately dispatched with a paramedic on board.
The Transportation Safety Board is investigating, RCMP said.