Witnesses recount scene after plane crash on Prince George, B.C., highway

Witnesses recount scene after plane crash on Prince George, B.C., highway MATTHEW FRANK AND MIKE HAGER PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: An iPhone photo shows an aircraft on the side of Foothills Boulevard in Prince George, B.C., on Thursday. KENNEDY GORDON/KENNEDY GORDON/THE PRINCE GEORGE CITIZEN 2 COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. There was no time for Jaime Pawliuk to take his foot off the gas as a plane smashed into the car ahead of him and then barrelled toward his – all he could do was wrench his wheel right to swerve into the nearby ditch. He says the sudden manoeuvre on a busy thoroughfare in Prince George, B.C., on Thursday afternoon created just enough space to avoid the plane’s propellers from slicing through his vehicle and, likely, him, but the plane’s wings still shaved part of the roof of his cab. One person in the car ahead of him died from the impact, authorities confirmed. The twin-engine turboprop charter plane was en route to Prince George’s airport when it lost power to one of its engines and made an emergency landing on Foothills Boulevard, a major arterial road in the northwest corner of the city, the Transportation Safety Board said. The plane hit four vehicles, injuring several people on the ground, though there were no injuries among the aircraft’s pilot, crew member or six passengers. Mr. Pawliuk, a 42-year-old security guard, was driving up Foothills Boulevard to start a week-long shift about 160 kilometres north in Mackenzie when the plane crashed, “appearing from nowhere,” he said in an interview. The only sound he heard was the twist of metal and the shattering of sunroof glass. He walked away from the crash with only minor cuts from the flying shards. Processing the incident won’t be easy or quick, Mr. Pawliuk said. “It’s not something that’s supposed to happen. It’s not really something that you should make sense out of,” he said. “It’s just an absolute accident that happened.” Open this photo in gallery: The wings of the plane damaged the roof of Jaime Pawliuk’s car. SUPPLIED The Transportation Safety Board, which is on scene investigating what led to the crash, said the flight originated from the Sturdee gravel airstrip. The remote facility is about 650 kilometres northwest of Prince George and serves nearby mining operations. Toronto-headquartered Evergold Corp. confirmed on Friday that…