Small plane crashes short of runway at Kelowna International Airport

Photo: Facebook

UPDATED: 8:05 p.m.

Kelowna International Airport has confirmed the lone occupant of the Cessna 172 training aircraft that landed short of the runway earlier this evening was treated for minor injuries.

YLW remains fully operational, but is experiencing delays to both arriving and departing flights.

Flights scheduled to arrive from Vancouver and Calgary this evening are delayed, and flights departing Kelowna for Victoria, Vancouver and Edmonton have been delayed. 

Passengers are encouraged to check their flight status on the website. 

ORIGINAL: 6 p.m.

A small training plane has crashed short of the runway at Kelowna International Airport, sending the occupant to hospital and delaying outgoing flights for the time being. 

The incident occurred at about 5 p.m. on Sunday evening, and more than 17 emergency vehicles are reported to have been on scene at the southern end of the airport.

YLW senior manager of airport operations Phillip Elchitz confirmed the occupant has been transported to Kelowna General Hospital by BC Ambulance. 

It is believed the individual was the sole occupant of the aircraft at the time of the crash.

It was an unusual Sunday evening for Kelowna resident Josh Anderson, who witnessed the incident while he was out walking his dogs at the dog park. 

"We had watched him do his first loop and my brother-in-law had seen him come in for his first attempt and he came in pretty steep, then levelled out and stopped on the runway, then went around again." 

Anderson says they were waiting to watch a WestJet flight take off when the smaller plane crashed. 

"We were waiting for the little plane because he's got to come back and land before WestJet goes, and we just look over and watch him dive right into the ground there."

Elchitz says crews are working to clear the area and avoid further delays to outgoing flights. 

"We're currently working on having the aircraft removed or moved off of the end of the runway so we can resume airport operations.

"All of the incoming flights that were planning to arrive around this time have already arrived. There are several flights waiting to depart and those flights will be delayed while we work on having the aircraft removed." 

Castanet will update this story as more information becomes available.