‘A huge loss’: First Nation mourns deaths of two couples killed in northern float plane crash

Four people who died in a float-plane crash near a remote lake in northeastern Manitoba on Saturday are being remembered as loving parents and outgoing community members.

The victims — identified by residents as Bradley and Rena Monias, and Nestor and Ella Monias — were flying from St. Theresa Point Anisininew Nation to Makepeace Lake to camp and hunt.

“They were ready to support anybody. Anything that happened in our community, they were always there,” Chief Raymond Flett told the Free Press.

“It is a huge loss for our community and the kids they left behind. We need to give (their children) comfort, and give them hope at the same time.”

All four were employed by the First Nation, with Bradley Monias being a former band councillor, Flett said.

RCMP said two 50-year-old women and two men, aged 53 and 49, died when the bush plane — a de Havilland DHC-2 (Beaver) — went down near Makepeace Lake.

Police said the 20-year-old male pilot survived with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The pilot was not from St. Theresa Point, Flett said.

RCMP said it is too early in the investigation to determine the cause of the crash.

Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada are expected to arrive at the crash site later this week, spokesman Liam MacDonald confirmed.

The crash happened about 425 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, near the Manitoba-Ontario boundary. RCMP were notified at about 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

The TSB investigation is in the field phase, which generally includes an examination of wreckage and interviews with witnesses or other people involved, such as a company.

“From there, we will determine the classification of the occurrence, and that will give us a better idea of the next steps in the investigation,” MacDonald wrote in an email.

The independent agency’s lone aim is to improve safety, a deployment notice said. The board does not assign fault, or determine civil or criminal liability.

The single-engine, propeller-driven plane was owned and operated by Alair MHA Enterprises Ltd., owner Alan Hadland confirmed to the Free Press. He declined further comment.

The charter taxi service operates out of St. Theresa Point’s airport. The company has six planes, including two Beavers, and provides flights for purposes such as tourism, mining, trapping and hunting, its website states.

Alair MHA Enterprises has been the registered owner of one of its de Havilland DHC-2 planes since 2007 and the other since 2017, according to the Canadian Civil Aircraft Register.

The commercial planes were manufactured in 1957 and 1959, respectively, the database states.

MacDonald said a search of a TSB database found no other investigation involving Alair MHA Enterprises Ltd.

The company was licensed at the time of the crash, Canadian Transportation Agency spokesman Vincent Turgeon said.

A Facebook video posted by a relative purportedly showed the small plane taking off from Island Lake, where St. Theresa Point is located, en route to Makepeace Lake.

The aircraft went down about 40 kilometres south of St. Theresa Point. The community, accessible by air and winter road, is home to about 4,100 people.

RCMP chartered a helicopter to help reach the crash site. Two Canadian Armed Forces aircraft — a CC-130H Hercules based at 17 Wing Winnipeg and a CH-146 Griffon helicopter based at 8 Wing Trenton, Ont., were sent to the site, said spokeswoman and naval Lt. Alicia Morris.

“To the families, friends, and the entire community, Manitoba grieves with you. Our thoughts remain with everyone there during this difficult time.”

Four search-and-rescue technicians parachuted from the Hercules to the crash scene. They provided medical assistance and helped rescue the pilot via a private helicopter that was organized by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton.

The lone survivor was eventually flown to Winnipeg on the Hercules.

“Our thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of the four individuals that did not survive the crash,” Morris wrote in an email.

Provincial and federal politicians offered similar messages of condolence.

“Our hearts are heavy with the tragic news of a plane crash near St. Theresa Point that has taken four lives,” Premier Wab Kinew wrote on social media. “To the families, friends, and the entire community, Manitoba grieves with you. Our thoughts remain with everyone there during this difficult time.”

Federal Northern and Arctic Affairs Minister Rebecca Chartrand, the MP for Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, which includes St. Theresa Point, said she was “devastated” over the loss of four people.

“My condolences go out to their families, friends and loved ones,” she wrote on social media.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca