Missing pilot David Douglas has been found dead after searchers located his aircraft submerged in Wolf Lake in Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park.
The Ontario Provincial Police confirmed on Wednesday (August 19) that the 73-year-old pilot was found deceased on Tuesday, four days after he departed Oshawa Executive Airport and failed to return as expected.
Investigators are coordinating a plan to extract Douglas and the aircraft from the lake.
Douglas left the Oshawa airport at 8:32 a.m. on Friday (August 14) in a privately registered Cassutt Racer, a single-engine experimental aircraft. He was the only person aboard.
As kawarthaNOW previously reported, the light blue aircraft with yellow accent striping was believed to have been flying north of Oshawa in the vicinity of Scugog and the Kawartha Lakes.
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton launched an aerial grid search east of Orillia around Balsam Lake, between Lake Simcoe and Bobcaygeon, with fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters participating.
The Ontario Provincial Police said aircraft debris was recovered from Wolf Lake on Sunday, with search efforts continuing with assistance from the Ministry of Natural Resources.
On Monday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre announced the aircraft had been found and transferred the case to provincial police as a missing-person investigation.
According to police, searchers located the aircraft submerged in the lake on Tuesday and confirmed Douglas was deceased.
The multi-agency search included front-line officers from the City of Kawartha Lakes detachment, the provincial police underwater search and recovery unit and aviation services, along with other specialized resources and partner agencies.
“The OPP extends its sincere condolences to the pilot’s family and loved ones and thanks members of the public who provided information, support and assistance throughout the search effort,” police stated in a media release.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is deploying a team of investigators to the area near Minden Hills to gather information and assess the crash. The independent federal agency investigates aviation occurrences to advance transportation safety. Its role is not to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability.
Provincial police will continue to assist the federal investigation as required.
