Debris of Missing Aircraft Found in Georgian Bay

1 CANADIAN AIR DIVISION/WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwired - Nov. 8, 2013) - The debris field of an aircraft missing in the Midland, Ontario area has been found on the shores of Georgian Bay.

Reports to the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton led search crews to the Nottawasaga Bay area on Sprat Point where they confirmed the debris belonged to the missing aircraft. Search coordinators are in the process of handing the case over to the OPP.

The aircraft, a Cessna 182, had been reported missing the night of Thursday, November 7, 2013 when it failed to arrive in Owen Sound. Weather at the time of the flight was poor.

Search efforts were led by the Royal Canadian Air Force supported by the Canadian Coast Guard, OPP ground and water units as well as volunteers with the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association and Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Assets involved at various times throughout included:

• 1 x CC-130 Hercules from 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton
• 1 x CH-146 Griffon helicopter 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron at 8 Wing Trenton
• 3 x Canadian Coast Guard vessels
• 1 x Canadian Coast Guard helicopter
• 2 x Ontario Provincial Police vessels
• Multiple OPP ground units
• 3 x Civil Air Search and Rescue Association (CASARA) aircraft
• 1 x Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel

The missing aircraft had an Electronic Locator Transmitter of the 121.5 Mhz variety that was not detected in the crash. It left Cornwall at 5:10 pm local time and was scheduled to arrive in Owen Sound at 7:55 pm local time. At 8:35 p.m. on November 7, 2013 Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton received a report from the Flight Information Centre in London, Ontario that the aircraft was overdue.

In Canada, SAR is a coordinated response bringing all possible assets to bear to save the lives of people lost or injured, often in remote and dangerous locations. While the Canadian Armed Forces, with the Canadian Coast Guard, coordinates the overall response, it is not necessarily the primary responder to a SAR event - air and marine resources can come from a spectrum of government and volunteer organizations.