Seven people, including a family from Texas, have died in a tragic small plane crash in rural Canada on Wednesday evening, authorities say.
The Transportation Safety Board in Canada announced Thursday that four adults and three children perished in the devastating crash, and five of the victims were Americans.
On Wednesday evening a Piper PA-32 plane crashed into the dense woodland near Kingston, Ontario, after the plane went missing earlier that same day.
The victims of the devastating crash have been identified by friends as pilot Otabek Oblokulov, of Missouri City, Texas, along with his wife and their children age three, 11 and 15. According to his social media he was from Uzbekistan.
They were flying with newly wed couple Bobomurod Nabiev and his wife, who lived in the Toronto area. Nabiev and his wife were permanent residents of Canada also originally from Uzbekistan, according to CBC.
All passengers aboard the U.S.-registered plane died in the crash. Investigators found that the plane had just six seats despite having seven passengers on board.
Seven people, including a family from Texas, have died in a tragic small plane crash in rural Canada on Wednesday evening, authorities say. The pilot was Texas engineer Otabek Oblokulov (above with his plane in March 2019) who was flying with his wife and three children aged three, 11 and 15
They were flying with newly wed couple Bobomurod Nabiev (above in 2013) and his wife, who lived in the Toronto area. Nabiev and his wife were permanent residents of Canada also originally from Uzbekistan
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada shared this picture of the plane wreckage in a dense wooded area in Kingston, Ontario, Canada
The Piper PA-32, better known as the Cherokee Six, took off from Buttonville Municipal Airport in Markham, Ontario headed to Quebec City early Wednesday but during the flight the plane changed its course to Kingston Airport.
The plane came down about four miles from the Kingston airport shortly after 5pm ET and all seven on board the plane died in the crash.
Prior to the crash, there was communication between the pilot and Kingston Flight Service Station.
The plane was reported missing when it failed to reach its destination. After crash landing, the emergency locator transmitter activated and Search and Rescue workers deployed to find the aircraft.
Oblokulov was an electrical engineer based in Missouri City, Texas and was an accomplished pilot who bought his first plane, a Cherokee 6 260, which is a Piper PA-32 plane, in May this year.
A CBC journalist reported that friends said this was the first time Oblokulov flew a plane to Canada.
FAA records show Obatek Oblokulov was a registered pilot. He got his license in May 2018 and the certificate for his Piper PA-32 plane in March 2019, according to FAA records.
Oblokulov was an electrical engineer based in Missouri City, Texas and father of three. Pictured above in a social media photo dated 2008
FAA records show Obatek Oblokulov was a registered pilot. He got his license in May 2018 and the certificate for his Piper PA-32 plane in March 2019, according to FAA records
This map shows where the Piper PA-32 plane that came down north of Kingston, Ontario, on Wednesday evening after 5pm EST
Mehmet Basti, a friend of Oblokulov and Toronto college professor, told CTV News that he was expecting Oblokulov and his family and a newly wed couple in Kingston. He said the group was supposed to spend three days in Quebec to celebrate the American holiday Thanksgiving.
‘We’re waiting for the call when they landed. We couldn’t reach them,’ he said.
‘We are in shock. We’re just trying to understand the situation,’ he added.
Basti identified the people on the plane. Investigators are get to formally identify all the victims of the crash.
Emergency crews were called to the area around 5.30pm ET but because it was difficult to access the heavily wooded crash site, police waiting until Thursday morning to continue the investigation.
Investigations pilfered through the crash scene wreckage on Thursday morning and the TSB shared a harrowing image of the broken bits of metal lying in the trees.
Rescue teams pictured at the site of the fatal plane crash in Kingston, Ontario
Four Transportation Safety Board investigators are looking into the fatal crash
An aerial view of the rescue services response early Thursday pictured above
All passengers aboard the U.S.-registered plane died in the crash. Investigators found that the plane had just six seats despite having seven passengers on board
Ken Webster, an investigator with TSB, says that early observations show that the plane came down on a steep incline.
‘Examination of the wreckage indicates that the angle of the impact was very steep,’ he said.
The plane did not have a flight data recorder, because it’s not required for these types of plane.
Investigators say they aren’t sure to what level bad weather had leading to the crash. Environment Canada had issued a special statement for Kingston that night advising that wind gusts could reach up to 50mph (80km/h).
The area was under a wind advisory with conditions described as ‘blustery’.
TSB, Kingston Police and the coroner’s office will be coordinating the investigation.
Resident Amanda Anglin recalled hearing a loud boom that sounded like thunder on Wednesday, then spotted the slew of emergency vehicles.