ABBOTSFORD, B.C. — Five people are in hospital, including one in critical condition, after a 1930s era biplane crashed shortly after take off Saturday at the Abbotsford International Airport in British Columbia.
Jadene Mah, a spokesperson for the Abbotsford International Airshow, said there was a pilot and four passengers on board the deHavilland Dragon Rapide when it crashed on the runway at 5:30 p.m., almost an hour after the airshow ended.
Mah said all five were transported to hospital by both road and air — the pilot of the biplane was in critical but stable condition, one passenger had serious injuries, and the three other were being treated for minor injuries.
NEW: Attendees at the @AbbyAirshow tell us a vintage aircraft struggled to take off after the show ended, crashing nose-down on airport property. @BC_EHS tells me 5 people taken to hospital, 2 of them via air ambulance. @CTVVancouver pic.twitter.com/VaPoDbQyti
— Penny Daflos (@PennyDaflos) August 12, 2018
"The most critical was the pilot, he's actually stable and going into surgery today," said Mah in a phone interview Sunday.
Mah said everyone involved were lucky emergency resources were still on the airfield and able to respond immediately.
"They responded inside a one-minute window, which is a tremendous response time," added Mah.
Airshow officials had said in an earlier Facebook post that the aircraft, which Mah called a piece of "living flight history," was operated by a museum, offering member flights.
#BREAKING: Five people have been taken to hospital after a small plane crash at the Abbotsford Airport in Abbotsford, Canada.#Abbotsford #AirShow pic.twitter.com/hB1zVbUPs3
— skywalker (@skywkee) August 12, 2018
Mah said the Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, and that the Airshow will proceed as scheduled on Sunday because of the first responders and Abbotsford airport staff.
"We definitely want to let everyone know how grateful we are for the emergency responders and the professionalism of the airport personnel here," she said.
Inspectors from the Transportation Safety Board were not able to respond to inquiries at the time of filing.
#Abbotsford emergency services are on scene at @yxxairport for a plane crash involving a 1930’s era biplane on scene which occurred shortly after the @AbbyAirshow had ended. Five on board with various injuries were transported to area hospitals. Airport expected to be open @ 9pm
— Abbotsford Airport (@yxxairport) August 12, 2018
Details regarding today's crash after the Airshow at #yxx. @yxxairport @City_Abbotsford https://t.co/nuvkMEl75o
— Abbotsford Airshow (@AbbyAirshow) August 12, 2018
The deHavilland Dragon Rapide was built in the 1930s by British aircraft manufacturer deHavilland and was designed for short-haul flights, carrying six to eight passengers at a time.
Photo: Penny Daflos/ Twitter
