A small float plane crashed into suburban Vancouver's Pitt Lake on Monday, but the pilot walked away without a scratch.
Pilot Jean-Claude Carrara of North Vancouver was the only person on board when his ultralight float plane lost power on approach to the lake.
"Within 50 feet of the water, my engine just quit," Carrara told CTV News. "I just had enough room to put it in a glide, and somehow -- I could not raise the nose high enough -- hit the mud flat, and bounced off."
He said the plane's float absorbed most of the impact of the crash. Although the aircraft flipped over, he was able to find his way to safety through a broken door, and waited in knee-deep water until a passing boater ferried him to shore.
"I walked out of it without a scratch. Good day for me but not for the plane, I guess," Carrara said.
He said he's been flying for 35 years, but does not know what caused the loss of power.
This is the second plane this month to crash in Pitt Lake. A small float plane crash-landed in the lake on July 3 because of a problem with its landing wheels.
