Two men on board Piper Comanche
Two men were on board a Piper Comanche that left Delhi on Thursday at 3:45 p.m. bound for Marathon, near Thunder Bay. The aircraft was reported overdue about three hours later by a flight information centre in London, said Maj. Trevor Reid of the Trenton-based Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre.
A search began at 8 p.m. Thursday. “Our priority right now is to try and find this aircraft and the two persons on board,” Reid said.High winds and clouds initially hampered search efforts. Weather conditions improved at about midday Saturday. Visibility stood at 15 aeronautical miles, or about 28 kilometres, for air crews on Sunday, conditions Reid described as “excellent.”Article content
The search is focused about 60 kilometres north of the Sault, the last known position for the aircraft. Efforts to find the missing plane are primarily being done by air. The terrain is “quite difficult,” Reid said.The search area is being checked multiple times based on several factors including altitude, direction and lighting conditions.
More than a half-dozen aircraft, including four helicopters and a CC130H Hercules airplane, are participating. Civil Air Search and Rescue Association members are serving as spotters on some aircraft.