Emergency crews were called to the scene of a plane crash west of the city on Thursday morning that involved an aircraft owned by a flying school at the Springbank Airport.

Police, EMS and fire were called to a field southwest of Calaway Park at about 10:00 a.m. for reports that a light aircraft had crashed.

“Early reports were, from several callers, that there was a fair amount of smoke in the area and they could identify where the aircraft was but they weren’t certain what had occurred,” said Stuart Brideaux, Public Education Officer, Calgary EMS.

A student and instructor from the Springbank Air Training College were found deceased in the wreckage.

“On EMS and fire arrival, we were eventually able to determine there were two adults deceased,” said Brideaux.

The president of SATC, Jayme Hepfner, released a statement to CTV News on Thursday afternoon saying…

It is with great sadness that I have to report that an SATC aircraft has crashed this morning.  There were two occupants on board, a Student and Instructor, who did not survive. 

My deepest sympathies go out to the families involved and I want to ensure them that I will do my best to support the investigation.

As the shock and grief continues to set in, I want to ensure that our staff and students have the support they need to get through this tragedy.

There are many questions to be answered and I plan to take it step by step to try to provide peace to the families and the greater aviation community.

Fire and smoke from the scene could be seen from the highway and impacted visibility for drivers for a time.

“There was some fire suppression required by the local fire department prior to being able to access the site,” said Brideaux.

Police say the names of the deceased are not being released pending notification of next of kin.

“At this time EMS has been able to clear the scene and left it in the care of RCMP and the Medical Examiner will be notified as per normal processes and the investigation will continue from here.”

Transport Canada and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are investigating.

Anyone with information regarding this plane crash is asked to contact the Cochrane RCMP detachment at 403-851-8000.