The family of a student pilot who died in a mid-air collision in Steinbach last summer is shattered to hear two people are dead after another plane crash near Kisbey, Sask. on Friday evening.
A Cessna 172 was on a night flight from Regina back to Steinbach, Man., but didn’t arrive as scheduled, according to Adam Penner, president of Harv’s Air. The aircraft was found Friday evening and both occupants were dead.
There was a post-impact fire, said Sophie Wistaff, media relations at the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), in an emailed statement on Sunday.
Harv’s Air is a Manitoba-based flight school which opened in 1973, according to its website.
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The plane crash on Friday marks the school’s third incident with crashes and injuries in less than two years.
Two student pilots at Harv’s Air, Sreehari Sukesh and Savanna Royes, were pronounced dead on-scene after colliding mid-air while practicing a training exercise in July 8, 2025.
“Our hearts just literally stopped because there’s not one day that goes by that we don’t think of Savy and her accident,” said Loraine Royes, Savanna’s mother. “Just knowing that two more lives have been lost and two more families are basically going to face what we have been facing… It’s the worst.”
Loraine said her husband, Tim, checked Savanna’s location because he follows her when she flies, and they realized the plane wasn’t moving and laid still in a field. Tim broke down crying, she said.
“They (Harv’s Air) said ‘hold on.’ Those two words haunted me for the rest of my life because I knew it wasn’t good,” said Loraine, recalling the conversation she had with the school. “My whole body just went into complete shock.”
Savanna was the youngest of three kids.
“She was the kindest and sweetest person ever. She always put people first… she was just light,” said Loraine.
“The entire Harv’s Air family is shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Both pilots had close ties to their fellow students and instructors,” said Penner, in an emailed statement on Sunday.
TSB said they expect to have a preliminary summary of the plane crash later this week.
