Float Planes OK After Midair

Two Cessna 185 float planes collided over Vancouver Island on Friday, but both were able to land safely. Both aircraft were on patrol for Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but they were operating from different bases and communicating on different frequencies. According to Bill Yearwood, of Canada’s Transportation Safety Board, “One aircraft was exiting Nanoose Bay when the other aircraft appeared in front of it in a steep bank.” The float of one plane hit the tail of the other. “The pilots were able to maintain control of the aircraft,” said Yearwood. “They established radio contact and assessed each other’s damage in flight, and then proceeded to their home bases.”

Two Cessna 185 float planes collided over Vancouver Island on Friday, but both were able to land safely. Both aircraft were on patrol for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, but they were operating from different bases and communicating on different frequencies. According to Bill Yearwood, of Canada's Transportation Safety Board, "One aircraft was exiting Nanoose Bay when the other aircraft appeared in front of it in a steep bank." The float of one plane hit the tail of the other. "The pilots were able to maintain control of the aircraft," said Yearwood. "They established radio contact and assessed each other's damage in flight, and then proceeded to their home bases."