At least five people are dead and the fate of another three are unconfirmed in two general aviation accidents in Western Canada.
At about 6.45 p.m. Sunday, a Beaver on floats went down in a wooded area near Peachland, B.C. There were reported to be three people on the aircraft, which caught fire after crashing. The fate of those on board was not immediately known.
On Saturday, a Lake Buccaneer and a Piper Cherokee somehow collided in a sparsely populated area of rural Saskatchewan near St. Brieux. There were no survivors.
The pilot of the Cherokee was Denny Loree. He was taking friend Eric Donovan and Donovan's 15-year-old son Wade to St. Brieux to buy a part for a piece of farm equipment.
The man and woman aboard the Buc haven't been identified as of late Sunday. They were headed from Regina to La Ronge.
The accident happened near the St. Brieux airport but details remain sketchy.



Arnie Schreder, the consummate bush pilot who became an unlikely television celebrity, died May 4 at his home in Kelowna, B.C.
As was widely expected, WestJet and Bombardier have reached agreement for the airline to buy up to 45 Q400 next generation aircraft to serve its new regional airline.
From left, Didier Toussaint, Discovery Air Government ServicesPresident; Fern Villeneuve, Golden Hawks Team Lead; Bill Briggs, honourary ground crew; Dan Dempsey, Hawk One Team Leader; Lt.-Gen. Andre Deschamps, Commander of the RCAF and Johnny Blache, designer of Golden Hawks paint scheme.
More than 200 delegates and dozens of exhibitors are on hand in Sidney, B.C. for the de Havilland all operators forum being held by Viking Air.



