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UPDATED: Plane leaving Nelson crashes near Crawford Bay

A small plane taking off from Nelson on Wednesday crashed near Crawford Bay claiming the life of the pilot.
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The Cessna aircraft that crashed near Crawford Bay on Wednesday left the Nelson airport that afternoon at 1 p.m.

A small plane taking off from Nelson on Wednesday crashed near Crawford Bay claiming the life of the pilot.

The pilot was the lone occupant of the Cessna 337 plane that left the Nelson airport at 1 p.m. intending to fly to La Ronge, Saskatchewan — a six-hour flight, says Transportation Safety Board (TSB) official Bill Yearwood.

Two investigators dispatched by TSB to the area to determine the cause of the accident found that the plane burned after impact.

"It was evident there was a post-crash fire," says Yearwood. "This makes it difficult for us in our investigation and was certainly tragic for the pilot."

Wreckage of the twin-engine plane was found north east of Crawford Bay in “high-treed terrain” and the pilot was dead at the scene.

The name of pilot and owner of the plane has not been released though Yearwood said the aircraft was registered to a company in the Nelson area. The BC Coroners Service has started their investigation.