Prince George emergency landing caused by plane’s engine losing power

The investigation into an aircraft’s emergency landing on a Prince George road on Thursday afternoon continues.

RCMP in Prince George, B.C., said the Transportation Safety Board has taken over the case.

They said a Beech King Air 200 airplane, registration C-GEDV, departed the Sturdee Airstrip in north-central B.C. at 1:25 p.m. PT with two crew members and six passengers on board.

The flight was destined for Prince George’s airport.

Investigators said that while en route, the aircraft lost power on one engine and was forced to make an emergency landing on Foothills Boulevard.

The aircraft collided with four vehicles and one person in a vehicle died, police confirmed on Thursday.

There were no injuries to the crew and passengers on board.

However, witness photos show a trail of destruction at the scene – broken windows, engine parts strewn across the roadway and cars forced off the road as drivers tried to avoid the aircraft.

One man posted on Facebook that he’s lucky to be alive after the roof of his vehicle caved in where the plane hit and a metal pole pierced the rear seat.

B.C. Emergency Health Services said 10 people were treated at the scene and two were taken to the hospital.

Cpl. Jennifer Cooper, media relations officer for the Prince George RCMP, said officers remain on the scene to provide security and to keep people away from the area.

“We have a lot of curious people here in Prince George and our request right now, and it’s a very strongly worded request, would be that everybody just maintain your distance,” she told CKPG News.

“This is still an active investigation. It is still not necessarily the safest place for everybody to be hanging out. And what this is doing right now is drawing resources from other areas of Prince George. Like our members who would prefer to be answering 911 calls, to stay here instead and keep all of the onlookers at a safe distance.”

Cooper said all the information they can release has been released at this time.

“We don’t need everybody out here right now clogging up our investigations,” she added.

“You could, if you don’t follow police direction, obstruction could be something that we look at, or mischief. So you don’t want to find yourself in that area.”

The section of Foothills Boulevard remains closed at this time.