A small aircraft forced to land in a field west of Sundre on April 1 was the result of the plane hitting a fence at the end of a runway, officials have determined.
On April 1 the single-engine Cessna 172 with two persons on board came down in the field immediately west of the Sundre airport after attempting a takeoff.
The plane is owned by Mount Royal University (MRU) and had two people on board, an instructor and a student. Neither party was injured in the crash.
Sundre RCMP Sgt. Jim Lank said a followup investigation, including consultations with Transport Canada, has determined the cause.
“Inquiries with MRU revealed that a flight instructor and a student had been conducting ‘forced approaches' when they struck a fence,” said Lank. “It was decided that the contact caused damage and an emergency landing was attempted.
“Due to the soft surface ground in the field further damage was caused to the landing gear and belly of the aircraft.”
Gerrit Vermeer, Transportation Safety Board of Canada spokesperson, confirmed the aircraft was attempting a takeoff when it hit a fence at the end of the runway.
“This was a fairly simple incident,” Vermeer. “What was reported to us was that the aircraft departed from the grass runway 24 at Sundre and didn't appear to perform as expected, and got to the end of the runway and one of the landing gear caught the top rail of a fence.
“Apparently the impact slowed the aircraft sufficiently that the pilot selected to perform an off-airport landing in a field off the end of the runway.”
When Sundre firefighters arrived at the scene after receiving a 911 call on the following day, they found fuel leaking from the aircraft, says Sundre fire Chief Marty Butts.
The plane was later dismantled and removed from the field.
