Ontario police and military officials say they’ve found plane debris as they search for a missing pilot, but they cautioned that it has not been confirmed that it belongs to the missing aircraft.
A massive rescue operation got underway this weekend when longtime pilot David Douglas, 73, did not arrive back at Oshawa Executive Airport as expected.
Durham Regional Police Service said he had left at about 8:30 a.m. Friday and was expected back about an hour later. When he did not arrive, a search began.
In a statement to Global News, Const. Nick Gluckstein said plane debris had been found in the area of Queen Elizabeth II Provincial Park in the Kawartha Lakes area.
“At this time, confirming of whether this is the subject plane is being confirmed,” Gluckstein wrote. “Pilot has not been located.”
He said Kawartha Lakes OPP and the Trenton Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) are searching the area, which includes dive techs in the lake areas.
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Douglas was flying a light blue and yellow amateur-built aircraft.
His family is asking people in the cottage area to come forward if they saw anything that might lead to Douglas’s location.
“Anyone who heard an aircraft flying unusually low on Friday morning, or heard an engine change pitch or stop, should call 911,” a release issued on behalf of his family said, adding that anyone with camera footage from Friday is asked to preserve it and call 911.
Richard Wiltshire, a cousin of Douglas, told Global News in an interview that the 73-year-old is a longtime pilot and leisure flyer.
“This trip is, my understanding, this trip is quite normal for him to go on a flight,” Wiltshire said. “We want him home, we want him safe with his family again.”
The pilot is described as five feet seven inches tall with a slim build. He has black/grey hair and a moustache, police said.
Global News has contacted the JRCC and Kawartha Lakes OPP for any potential updates on the search efforts.
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