16-year-old boy dead after being hit by plane that crashed into dock in Lake Scugog

Officials from Durham police and the TSB provide an update on the plane crash at Lake Scugog that killed a teen standing on a dock.

A 16-year-old boy is dead after being struck by a small plane that crashed into a boat dock in Lake Scugog on Friday afternoon.

Durham Regional Police Insp. Gill Lock said emergency services received a call for a plane crash on the lake near Williams Point at 12:30 p.m.

The boy was standing on the dock when the plane hit him, Gill told reporters during a news conference at the scene Friday night.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity has not been released.

“I don’t have any specifics on that, but that will form part of our investigation through witness statements and things to that nature,” Gill said when asked what the boy was doing on the dock at the time of the incident.

Meanwhile, Gill said the pilot was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the passenger was treated at the scene.

“I don’t have any information at this time about where the pilot was coming from or where they were attempting to land. It’s all under investigation right now,” Gill said.

Images from the scene show the aftermath of the crash, with the plane upside down resting on top of a pontoon boat.

The cause of the crash and the circumstances that led up to it are unknown.

Alcohol ruled out as factor

Gill said alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and the pilot is co-operating with officials.

Investigators with the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) are at the scene.

TSB senior investigator Peter Rowntree told reporters that his agency’s role is to determine what happened, why it happened and how it can be prevented from happening again.

“It’s a traumatic event. It’s traumatizing to those who witnessed it. It’s traumatizing to those who are involved in the actual investigation itself or the accident itself, so it’s difficult for all of us,” Rowntree said.

When asked how challenging the investigation could be, Rowntree said it’s always going to be difficult with accidents involving watercraft.

“We have to look at what our witnesses have to say. We need to talk to the pilot to see what he has to say about what happened with this accident today,” he said.

“We need to look at the wreckage, see if there were any anomalies to be found with the actual wreckage. Document the site and look for any perishable information that might glean some more information on what happened today.”

Rowntree identified the aircraft as an Ultravia Pelican Sport 600, which can land on solid ground and on water.

CTV Aviation Specialist Phyl Durdey said it appears the plane hit the pontoon boat at a fair rate of speed, given that the aircraft is flipped over.

“Landing on water is a little bit trickier than it is landing on the ground. Basically, you’re going to be going against the waves. You’re going to be settling the aircraft down very gently,” Durdey said, adding that floatplanes like this aircraft do not have brakes.

TSB investigators will be taking the aircraft to a secure location before examining the engines and controls, he said.

“They’ll be looking at every little aspect of the aircraft,” Durdey said. “One thing to remember on a small aircraft like this, it doesn’t have a flight data recorder. So, they have to put their investigation skills to the test.”