Smoke drifting east from wildfires in B.C. is hindering the search for a light plane that disappeared without a trace during a flight across northern Alberta on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, today the smoke and the haze from the wildfires is posing a bit of a challenge for the crews,” Capt. Trevor Reid, a CFB Trenton spokesperson said in an interview on Wednesday.
“The smoke and haze from these wildfires can impact visibility. It can impact where aircraft are able to fly.”
Military and civilian crews began scouring a swath of land north and west of Edmonton Monday after a Cessna 172, piloted by Scott Schneider, vanished during its flight from Edson to Westlock.
Schneider, 40, and his dog were aboard the plane when it disappeared.
Scott Schneider is pictured with his dogs Gus and Bella. Schneider, along with his chocolate Labrador Gus, were on board a Cessna 172 that went missing Sunday evening. The plane was last seen at Edson at 5:20 p.m. Sunday. (Stephanie Bruntz)
As smoky conditions worsened on Wednesday, triggering air quality advisories across the province, some search and rescue aircraft were put on standby, Reid said.
The ongoing search is being co-ordinated by the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre (JRCC) in Trenton, with assistance from the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) in Edmonton.
A CC-130 Hercules military aircraft from Winnipeg and a Bell CH-146 Griffon helicopter from CFB Cold Lake remained in the air on Wednesday morning.
None the six civilian planes provided by CASARA will fly until conditions improve, however crews will continue search efforts on the ground, Reid said.
Using homing beacons, volunteers will drive through the area hoping to pick up a signal from the plane’s emergency locator transmitter. The plane was equipped with the emergency beacon but there is no indication the device was activated.
“These are aviators with a lot of local knowledge of the area, Reid said.
“They’re not able to fly given the environmental conditions so they’ll try to do it from the ground.”
The single-engine plane was scheduled to fly from Jasper to Westlock on Sunday and stopped in Edson, the last place it was sighted.
The aircraft departed from Edson at 5:20 p.m. and was due to land in Westlock at 7 p.m.
Schneider was reported missing after he failed to show up to work on Monday.
Despite the smoke, Reid said both military and civilian teams involved in the search are committed to continuing.
“Our crews were very well-trained to be able to conduct these searches and are used to flying in challenging conditions like today,” he said.
“We are focused on this search.”
A preliminary Transport Canada report says the missing Cessna was built in 1956 and is owned by the W.S. Bar Cattle Company Ltd.