WASKADA, Man. - This small southwestern Manitoba town is wounded beyond measure after a plane crash Sunday claimed the lives of a man and three children.
Dead are pilot Darren Spence, his sons Gage, 10, and Logan, 9, and the boys' friend, Dawson Pentecost, 9.
Police said the plane crashed sometime Sunday afternoon just outside Waskada. Police were still controlling a wide perimeter around the crash site Monday afternoon.
Spence, a crop duster pilot, and the children departed in a Cessna 210 around 1 p.m. They were reported overdue two hours later. A Canadian Forces search and rescue team found the crash site around 7 p.m.
All four occupants were dead at the scene.
"As far as I know, (Spence) was taking the kids up for a recreational flight," Waskada Mayor Garry Williams said. "That would not have been unusual."Williams was overcome by emotion as he remembered the three children and their "infectious smiles."
"Little guys you see walking by your house every day, riding their bikes, playing hockey, just being kids," the mayor said, his voice cracking. "They were just active little guys."
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