Passerbys watching the fire from the plane crash from a small parking lot across IKEA. Photograph by: Gary Lee, Special to the Sun
RICHMOND — Witnesses to the crash of a cargo plane in the parking lot of a Richmond transmission shop Thursday night have told police the plane was on fire before it hit the ground.
RCMP spokesman Peter Thiessen said Friday that two males aboard the plane that was carrying a cargo of blood were killed and the remains have yet to be removed from the site.
Thiessen spoke to reporters in front of Premier Transmission on Vickers Way.
"We received a call at 10:15 p.m. in regards to a plane crash behind here," Thiessen said Friday morning. "Unfortunately two occupants in the plane were deceased. The plane was en route to a landing at Vancouver airport.
"Witnesses proved us with information that there was some kind of difficulty with the aircraft - some level of fire prior to impact. After impact, there was a significant fire - very intense. In fact, behind us here there's not much left that would resemble an aircraft."
“I saw the whole thing,” Darren Van Leeuwen told The Sun Thursday night.
“The plane engine sounded real low,” said Leeuwen, a truck driver for Coca-Cola. “It came almost straight down, straight into the ground. The flames shot up 100 feet or more.”
Leeuwen said he was in shock as he grabbed his phone and dialled 911.
“You could hear explosions from barrels nearby. … It's just burning wreckage. It just disintegrated. There was definitely no one alive and moving. Every single piece was on fire.”
“You know like in the movies? It just sounded like that, like he was trying to pull up or something.”
The aircraft was on approach to the Vancouver airport from Victoria when it crashed near the Ikea in north Richmond at 10:30 p.m., according to YVR spokeswoman Alana Lawrence.
According to Canadian Blood Services employee Pennie Arnason the two pilots were in good spirits before leaving Cassidy Airport in Nanaimo.
"They were very nice gentlemen, good to get along with, and very easy going. They were both in good spirits, joking and laughing with me."
She said she had a good working relationship with the pilot having delivered blood to him frequently for the past year. She had only just met the co-pilot.
"It's going to be kind of wierd not seeing him. It's just a horrific thing," Arnason said
"I am very shocked. It hits closer to home because of what we do."
Arnason said 145 units of blood were being transported to Vancouver from Nanaimo and Victoria.
The pilots left Nanaimo at 8:20 p.m. and flew to Victoria to pick up more blood. They were chartering an eight-seat Navajo Piper aircraft.
Canadian Blood Services had chartered the plane from Richmond-based Canadian Air Charters for the flight from Victoria.
Angie Gaddy, a spokesperson for Canadian Blood Services, said the charter flight was not out of the ordinary.
"All blood goes to Vancouver for processing and testing after it has been collected," Gaddy said.
Canadian Blood Services has a number of clinics located around Vancouver Island, with routine flights scheduled into Vancouver.
"Our thoughts go out to the families of the pilots and the staff of the charter company," Gaddy said.
She said Canadian Blood Services is still gathering information about the incident.
Bill Yearwood, regional manager of the federal transportation safety board, said today that investigators have radar information on the aircraft to 700 feet (210 metres) that should help provide some information into events prior to the crash.
The twine-engine Piper Navajo PA-31 is part of the fleet of Canadian Air Charters of Richmond.
Mark Wilcox, operations manager for Canadian Air Charters, said he is awaiting the results of the federal investigation and "did not see any benefit" in discussing the crash at this time.
At the time of the crash dozens of police blocked Bridgeport Road at Sweden Way as spectators gathered in the McDonald's across from Ikea.
The plane hit power lines that continued to spark two hours after, said RCMP Assistant Commissioner Peter German.
It's lucky more people weren't hurt in the crash near homes and businesses, he added.
“We are very lucky, very fortunate in that regard,” he said.
The building in the 12000-block of Vickers Way was on fire, and emergency crews blocked off the streets.
Fiona Sims was driving over the Knight Street Bridge when she saw the plane crash.
“I heard a big bang and I saw the light and then the smoke,” Sims said.
She was frantic as the small plane looked like it crashed near her Richmond house.
She called 911 and told police the plane had gone down near Ikea.
“I wanted to call my mom and dad but knew I had to call police first.”
“I was freaking out,” Sims said.
She has since confirmed her family is okay. But she is still shocked that a plane could crash so near her home.
Taylor Fisher and his buddy rode their bikes to the scene after seeing the smoke.
They found themselves on the wrong side of the yellow tape, right at the crash scene.
“It was crazy. You couldn't even tell what it was from looking at it,” he said. “It was all melted plastic. … The telephone poles were on fire.”
The smell of burning plastic filled the air two blocks from the crash scene.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
A plane, carrying blood donations, crashed in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada on Thursday night. The plane, a twin engine PA-31 Piper Navajo departed from Victoria, when it nosedived into a parking lot during its final approach to Vancouver International Airport shortly after 10:00 p.m. PDT (UTC-7). 

Witnesses report the plane flying unusually low prior to it crashing and bursting into flames by Bridgeport Road, behind a large Ikea store.

"The plane engine sounded real low, it came almost straight down," according to ''The Vancouver Sun'' who asked witness Darren Van Leeuwen. "The flames shot up 100 feet or more."

Both of the pilots on-board were killed, it not yet known if there were any other passengers. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Assistant Commissioner Peter German stated that it was very lucky that nobody on the ground was killed.

The cause of the crash is under federal investigation.