The survivor of a plane crash that killed five people sent text messages about his location from a nearby hill, so rescue crews could narrow their search. The aircraft went down in northern Vancouver Island and burst into flames.
Bob Pomponio used his cellphone to text and call a friend, who relayed the information to rescue officials. In one text message, he said he could see a rescue plane flying overhead.
The Grumman Goose, an amphibian aircraft, went down on the northern coastline of Vancouver Island early Sunday. RCMP said they believe the cause of the crash was an engine stall, although that has not been confirmed.
Transportation Safety Board spokesman Bill Yearwood told reporters Monday that a fire broke out after the plane hit the ground.
"There was a post-crash fire," he said. "After it collided with the trees, there was a fire -- a small fire that erupted into a larger one."
Sgt. Wayde Simpson, leader of the search team that found the men, said they may have survived because they were seated in the rear of the plane.
"The tail was pretty much intact and that's why I believe those two gentlemen survived," he told CTV News. They were at the back of the aircraft and they managed to get out of the aircract after impact, within about 30 seconds."
Rescue efforts were hampered by dense tree coverage, which made it difficult for search planes to spot the wreckage.
Pomponio climbed a hill to get a better cellphone signal, but was frustrated when Telus sent him two advertising text messages while he tried to get help. Eventually, he managed to contact his friend.
Lt.-Cmdr. Gerry Pash, of the Victoria Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre, said Pomponio's messages enabled rescue crews to find the crash site in a matter of hours.
"This is one of those searches that could have gone on for days had we not had the cellphone's stuff," he said.
Prof. Carsten Sorensen, an expert on information systems who lectures at the London School of Economics, said text messages can be an ideal way to communicate in an emergency.
"If you are in a remote area, getting a connection to a telephone base station is very difficult, which means you might lose what little battery life you have left," he told CTV Newsnet.
"Sending a text message is actually the most secure way of ensuring you get a message through because the phone will keep looking out for the signal. As soon as it gets enough of the signal it will send the message, whereas, if you try to make a phone call and there's not enough signal, you might not get through. And if you do get through, there's a chance the one you're calling won't be able to pick up."
Pomponio's brother-in-law, Martin Young, said Monday that Pomponio suffered soft-tissue injuries in the crash. The other survivor and five victims have not been identified.
However, Seaspan International released a statement Sunday confirming that four of its employees had died.
"We offer our deepest sympathies to the families and will be working directly with them and the two Seaspan survivors to provide grief and trauma counselling," it read.
The Grumman Goose, operated by Pacific Coastal Airlines, was flying between the Vancouver Island town of Port Hardy and Chamiss Bay. The flight was apparently supposed to be only 30-minutes long.
With a report by CTV's Jim Beatty and files from The Canadian Press
