The plane was engulfed in flames
A plane displaying the message ‘will you marry me’ on a banner trailing behind it crashed into an island near Montreal in an accident that left one dead and another in hospital being treated for injuries.
The Cessna 172 aircraft was carrying the marriage proposal banner before an as-yet-unreleased issue arose and the pilot reportedly attempted to make an emergency landing, reports the Independent.
The banner is believed to have fallen into the St-Lawrence River before the plane crashed in Park Dieppe, between Old Montreal and St Helen’s Island.
“It seemed like the normal height that a plane like that would fly when it has a banner,” witness Laurel Scala told CTV News. “We struggled to read what the banner said… It said, ‘will you marry me.”
The pilot, currently being treated in hospital for undisclosed injuries, was identified as Gian Piero Ciambella, owner of Publicite Aerogram.
“Mr Ciambella is a very experienced pilot,” Paul Fréchette, a pilot and former investigator with the Transportation Safety Board, told CBC Canada.
Fifteen minutes before the crash, the plane sent out a distress beacon, which many believe to be a sign of engine failure. The aircraft is being sent to Ottawa for an investigation, where they hope to gain a better understanding of what happened.
“We could be looking at the engine, at the propeller at the aircraft control; it can be anything – fuel contamination,” said Isabelle Langevin of the Transportation Safety Board.
Reports suggest that the plane touched down at first but then bounced and spun around until the eventual crash. Video footage from the scene shows the aircraft engulfed in flames as firefighters attempt to snuff out the fire.
“My thoughts are with the family of the deceased,” wrote Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante on Twitter.
The identity of the deceased passenger has not yet been revealed and it is not yet clear if they were connected to the marriage proposal.
Related links:
- Schools could open on weekends to help kids catch up after Covid closures
- Two more teachers ‘suspended’ over Prophet Muhammad cartoon controversy
- MP for Liverpool Riverside invites Starmer to meet families of Hillsborough victims after writing The Sun op-ed
