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Plane crashes in Saskatoon

Apr 1, 2011 | 7:37 PM

A twin-engine plane has crashed in Saskatoon, just off the intersection of 51st Street and Wanuskewin Road, near an Extra Foods grocery store.

“It's landed on top the sound barrier,” said one witness.

“All of a sudden and there was this big boom … I slammed on my brakes and we all ran out. This man came out and he was all covered in blood,” said another witness.

One person, a passenger, was found dead when paramedics arrived, said Troy Davies, with MD Ambulance in Saskatoon.

The man has been identified as 47-year-old, Iaroslav Gorokhovski from Embrum Ont.

There were two other people injured, with minor injuries — the pilot, 42, and co-pilot, 57 — who managed to get out of the plane on their own, he said.

The two men were taken to Royal University Hospital, in stable condition for treatment.

Two fire crews from the Saskatoon Airport Authority and three Saskatoon city crews responded to the scene, said Assistant Fire Chief Dan Paulson.

The plane was having trouble with one of the engines as it was coming into the Saskatoon airport, Paulson said.

The airplane crew radioed in that they were having an emergency and they had to make a forced approach, when they hit the sound barrier at about 6:30 p.m., he said.

The markings on the aircraft show it to be a Fugro Geoservices survey plane, Paulson said.

Traffic has been blocked on both the north and south on Wanuskewin, but, the east and west lanes on 51st Street are open.

Police are asking traffic to stay away from this area.

Two of the Saskatoon fire crews have left the scene, the others are waiting for the Department of Transport coming out of Winnipeg, Paulson said.

According to one eye witness, who called into NewsTalk Radio in Saskatoon, the pilot did a very good job landing the plane where he did and not hitting any traffic in the busy intersection.

To see a video of the scene, click here.

news@panow.com