A 70-year-old man walked away relatively unscathed after his Zenair Zodiac aircraft made an unscheduled landing in the southeast community of Walden.
The crash occurred late Saturday morning at a location in Walden, near the intersection of Walden Common and Walden Drive Southeast. The area is not yet developed.
Tom Pastershank was working as a framer on a yet to be completed home when he heard sputtering.
“I was working on the floor of the house,” said Pastershank. “I heard this funny sound behind me so I turned around and looked and that plane was maybe 20 feet above (a nearby) fence.”
“By the time I turned around and tried to see where he was going, I just kind of seen him flip over in the mud.”
According to police, emergency crews received reports that the ultralight plane was experiencing engine difficulties prior to the crash.
EMS spokesperson Adam Loria says a paramedic crew was called to the scene at 11:40 a.m. and discovered a plane on its roof. The lone occupant was transported to the Foothills Medical Centre in stable condition.
The pilot 70-year-old Henry David Kroeker suffered minor, soft-tissue injuries.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is leading the investigation into the crash.
Kroeker's Zenair Zodiac is based out of the Indus Airport, the location where the pilot first learned to fly. Airport management tell CTV Kroeker has been flying planes for roughly five years.
