ST. JOHN’S — A small seaplane crashed into the woods on Saturday night while trying to land on water near Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital city. The Merlin GT plane lost power as it was attempting to land on Paddy’s Pond, which is about 15 kilometres southwest of St. John’s, N.L., said Jeff Hatcher, a platoon chief with the St. John’s Regional Fire Department. The plane went down in the nearby woods just after 7 p.m. The two men on board managed to get out of the wreck by the time first responders arrived, Hatcher said in an interview Sunday. One man was able to walk out of the woods to the highway, where an ambulance was waiting, and the other needed help from a helicopter. “I’m sure it was pretty scary for them,” Hatcher said, adding that both were taken to hospital, neither with serious injuries. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary says the Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating. Hatcher said there is a forestry station and a seaplane base at Paddy’s Pond, which is about 2.5 kilometres long. The Merlin GT involved with the crash is a small seaplane on floats, said a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax. The plane is roughly six metres long, with a wingspan of just over nine metres. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2026. The Canadian Press
