All five victims of a plane crash involving a 1930-era airplane at Abbotsford Airport on Saturday have been upgraded to stable condition, according to organizers of the Abbotsford International Airshow, CTV News reported.
Witness David Kent told CTV Vancouver that the "older-style airplane" could be seen rocking from side to side before its wing clipped the ground. He said it smashed nose-first into the runway.
“It came to an instant stop and fortunately, there were no flames,” Kent said.
Officials from the Abbotsford International Airshow said that the plane was from a museum in the United States and part of a series called “Living History Flights,” which had been taking place alongside the airshow.
“Some of these museum aircraft offer rides to people,” Jim Reith, the airshow president, said. “There are a lot of air show attendants who are interested to take rides in vintage aircraft, so it was part of that program.”
On Sunday morning, investigators from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada were called in to determine the cause of the crash, which remained unknown.
Two of the plane's occupants were airlifted from the scene and three others were transported over land after the incident.
The plane, a de Havilland Dragon Rapide, “experienced difficulties on the airfield” shortly after airshow events had concluded for the day, according to the Abbotsford Airshow. This allowed first-responders, who were already on the scene, to get to the plane quickly.