Search and rescue teams will remove the bodies of a student pilot and his flight instructor Wednesday night from the remote area in B.C.'s Fraser Valley where their plane crashed a day earlier.
The Transportation Safety Board said the pair was flying over a mountainous portion of terrain during a flying lesson Tuesday afternoon when the two-seat Cessna 152 crashed near the north end of Harrison Lake.
The flight took off from the Boundary Bay Airport for a training flight in mid-afternoon and was part of the Pacific Flying Club.
Bill Yearwood of the TSB said the area of the wreckage is at an elevation of 4,000 feet, amongst thick brush and large boulders and is only accessible by helicopter.
Footage from CTV's Chopper 9 shows the wrecked plane downed in a mountain valley surrounded by deep snow and large boulders.
RCMP aerial teams as well as search teams from Chilliwack and Kent flew into the area at 10 a.m. to recover the victims' bodies.
Two TSB investigators were also brought in to assess the wreckage site. Yearwood said it isn't believed the pilot sent any distress signals before the crash. He doesn't believe there were any mechanical problems with the Cessna.
"We know the student pilot was accompanied by an instructor. We don't know what caused the accident. We don't know who yet was flying. We'll try to determine that and what exercises they were doing," he said.
The fuselage will be brought back to the TSB facility for a full forensic investigation.
"This is really a sad accident and our thoughts are with the family of the victims and the Pacific Flying Club," said RCMP Const. Tracy Wolbeck.
The victims' names are being withheld pending next of kin notification.
