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AFN press release

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Offers Condolences Following Plane Crash Near North Spirit Lake First Nation

OTTAWA, Jan. 10, 2012 /CNW/ - Assembly of First Nations (AFN) National Chief Shawn A-in-chut Atleo today offered condolences following a plane crash near North Spirit Lake First Nation. 

"On behalf of the Assembly of First Nations and the national executive, I offer sincere condolences to the families and communities of those lost in today's tragic plane crash," said AFN National Chief Shawn Atleo.  "Our thoughts and prayers are with the leadership and citizens of North Spirit Lake First Nation, as well as our brothers and sisters across Treaty 9 and Treaty 5 territory impacted by this tragedy." 

Full details have yet to be released, but reports say at least four people were killed when the small plane went down around 10 a.m. today while approaching the airport in North Spirit Lake. The four passengers and pilot were travelling from Winnipeg, MB. 

North Spirit Lake First Nation is located about 400 kilometers north of Dryden, ON. 

The Assembly of First Nation is the national organization representing First Nation citizens in Canada. 

For further information: 

Jenna Young, AFN Communications Officer 613-241-6789, ext 401 or cell: 613-314-8157 or jyoung@afn.ca 

Alain Garon, AFN Bilingual Communications Officer 613-241-6789, ext 382 or cell: 613-292-0857 or agaron@afn.ca 

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From National Post 

Four dead in plane crash near northern Ontario’s Spirit Lake First Nation

Postmedia News  Jan 10, 2012

WINNIPEG — Four people died Tuesday when a small plane flying from Winnipeg crashed at an isolated reserve in northern Ontario.

Officials with the Transportation Safety Board say the twin-engine Piper PA 31 crashed into North Spirit Lake at about 10 a.m. while attempting to land at the airstrip at North Spirit Lake First Nation.

Five people were on board, including the pilot.

The TSB confirmed there is one male survivor of the crash.

“We will be following up with the survivor,” the TSB’s Peter Hildebrand said Tuesday afternoon. “We wish him well in his recovery.”

Hildebrand said there is no control tower at the 1,066-metre airstrip, adding landings are left up to the pilot’s discretion.

Hildebrand said the plane, built in 1977, was not required to have a voice or flight recorder.

Resident Cameron Rae said the crash occurred about half a kilometre from the airstrip, near the home of airport foreman Joe Keesick. Members of Keesick’s family were first on the scene and tried to put out the flames, Rae said.

“They were doing whatever they could to save those people,” he said.

Resident Martha Campbell died in the crash, along with Ben Van Hoek and Colette Eisinger, two members of Aboriginal Strategies Inc., a Winnipeg-based native consulting firm, Rae said.

The name of the fourth victim has not been released.

An ASI spokesman confirmed that some of its employees were passengers but refused to say how many were aboard or comment on their condition. ASI is owned by Tataskweyak Cree Nation, of Split Lake, Man. The firm has offices in downtown Winnipeg and in Thunder Bay, Ont.

People on the small, close-knit reserve are devastated, Rae said.

The reserve is located about 300 kilometres north of Kenora, Ont., and is accessible only by air or by winter road.

Of the band’s 486 members, 414 live on the reserve.

“It’s very sad . . . very sad,” said Rae. “We’ve known (the victims) for a long, long time.”

Eric Feldman, principal of the Victoria Linklater School on the reserve, said the community is coping with the tragedy with almost no resources on the ground.

“There is no emergency equipment whatsoever here,” he said. “There’s no firefighting equipment, not even an ambulance. They were putting the fire out with snow and they had to drag people out of it. The one survivor they took to the nursing station.”

The weather at the time of the crash was a “blinding snowstorm . . . a whiteout,” said Rae.

Feldman said he was surprised the plane attempted to fly into the area — let alone land — given the poor weather. “It was horrible. You couldn’t see in front of your face,” he said, adding it had been snowing for several hours before the crash.

Officials from the TSB were headed to the community to investigate.

The flight Tuesday appears to be the first plane to crash at the remote community. One resident said local First Nation members could not recall another crash and at least one private website, the Aviation Safety Network, which records airline accidents, has no information in its database about earlier crashes at the airport.

Winnipeg Free Press, with files from Postmedia News