Small plane crash lands near high school in Toronto’s east end

No one was injured when a small plane crashed near a sports field at a school in East York - all while a soccer game was going on. CP24's Courtney Heels reports

No injuries have been reported after a small plane containing three occupants crash landed in Toronto’s east end on Monday night.

The incident happened at Monarch Park Collegiate Institute at 1 Hanson St., just south of Danforth Avenue and west of Coxwell Avenue.

Toronto fire said they were dispatched to that area at 8:20 p.m. for reports of a small plane that had crashed into the stadium area.

They said that paramedics at the scene reported smelling gas and fuel.

Toronto fire’s hazmat team quickly responded to address this issue. Toronto fire told CTV News Toronto in an email that a small amount of fuel was leaking, but crews have since been able to contain it.

Toronto police, meanwhile, said they were called to the scene at 8:17 p.m. for reports of a small plane that has crashed in a field. Police said three occupants were on board, noting that no injuries have been reported at this time.

Speaking with reporters at the scene, Toronto fire Chief Jim Jessop said crews arrived to find a small plane that had crashed “just shy” of the soccer field into the parking lot right beside the grandstand.

“I am happy to report there are no injuries to the occupants of the airplane and no injuries to the civilians that were playing soccer on the field. As you can see, the game continues,” he said, adding that the scene is now stabilized and the leaking fuel has been mitigated.

“We have deemed the situation under control so there is no risk to the public.”

Jessop said the aircraft, which looks to be a four-seater 140 Piper Cherokee (C-FXGC), appears to have come through the tree canopy and skidded into a fence about 50 feet away from a field where people were playing soccer.

He said that he has not spoken with the plane’s occupants, whom he described as in their mid 30s to 40s, and is not aware of where the plane came from and where it was heading.

“We were very fortunate tonight, when I was back at the scene, and you look at the amount of people on that field playing soccer, and we got very lucky tonight,” Jessop said.

“This is rare. You know, we did have the plane go down into the lake a number of weeks ago, but to see a plane crash land into the heart of the city on a high school property is something I have not seen in my close to 30 years (of service), and it is extremely rare. So we are very, very fortunate that there were no injuries, that it turned out the way it did, because it could have been a lot worse.”

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada, the federal authority that has jurisdiction over this kind of incident, has been notified and wil be handling the investigation once its investigators arrive on scene, Jessop said.

Until they arrive, Toronto fire and police will “maintain scene continuity and stand by and then provide any assistance that is required or requested by (TSB),” the fire chief noted.

The Toronto District School Board has been advised of the incident and will work with Transportation Safety Board of Canada on next steps in the morning. It not clear at this point if classes will be cancelled for the day.

Witnesses share what they saw and heard

Beach resident Kevin Alexander told CP24 that he was in the area of the park’s pickleball courts when he saw the aircraft’s lights dipping below the trees and then heard the crash, adding that several people who witnessed what happened ran in that direction..

Another witness named Frank Leonardo told CP24 that he was playing soccer nearby when he saw a plane “flying really low” moments before it crash landed.

“The whole field was being played on. Thank God (no one was hurt),” he said.

David was with his kids who were practing soccer at the field at the nearby St. Patrick’s Catholic Secondary School when the plane came down.

“We saw a plane really low. I’m going to say maybe 250 to 300 feet in the air, very quiet. And it was just kind of going from the west side of the field to the east side, and then it was out of sight and then we heard a crash,” he told CP24.

“We saw three occupants that were near the plane and shortly after we saw the police, and fire, and ambulance, everybody showing up.”

With files from CP24’s Melissa Duggan