Investigators from the Transportation Safety Board are combing over the scene of a Cessna plane crash that injured an instructor and student pilot Thursday.
Two TSB investigators were expected to spend their Friday at the site just north of the Duncan airport, where a small plane struck high-voltage power lines before crashing in a farmer’s field.
Both people aboard the Cessna 172, a female instructor and male student from the Victoria Flying Club, survived.
“Both doing well as can be expected,” club president Ramona Reynolds told CTV News. “It’s a miracle.”
While the student was able to pull himself out of the wreckage and suffered only minor injuries, the flying instructor was trapped in the downed plane for nearly two hours before she was finally extricated, and remains in hospital in serious condition.
The student has since been released from hospital, and on Friday the flying club said he’s been commended for maintaining a calm demeanour and keeping a cool head after the crash.
The crash happened while the pair were attempting a “touch-and-go” landing on the 1,500-foot-long runway at Duncan Airport.
The president of the Duncan Flying Club said many students practice on the runway because it is a small, tough landing used for advanced training purposes.
The TSB has gathered preliminary information on the crash, saying weather was fair when it happened.
They’re now examining the plane wreckage to look for anything else that may have gone wrong, such as an aerodynamic stall or engine failure.
With files from CTV Vancouver Island's Jessica Lepp
