Three die in light plane crash near Lappeenranta
Flying instructor and two pupils drowned as Piper Arrow plunged into Lake Saimaa
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A light plane crashed into Lake Saimaa on Friday afternoon, killing all three persons on board.
The accident happened in Taipalsaari, close to Lappeenranta. The single-engined Piper Arrow was carrying a flying instructor and two pupils. All three men were in their 30s and from the Greater Helsinki area.
The plane was on a training flight from Kuopio to Lappeenranta when it went down, after having first taken off from Malmi Airport in Helsinki earlier in the day.
Contact with the aircraft was lost by air traffic controllers shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
At no point before this had the pilot made mention of any technical or other problems.
Two bodies were recovered from the water shortly after the crash, and the third a few hours later.
An eyewitness out rowing at the time said he saw the plane falling nose-down straight out of the sky.
The aircraft broke up into several small pieces on impact, indicating considerable speed when it struck the water.
An accident investigation board is to be officially set up this week to look into the cause of the crash.
Investigators already examined the wreckage at the weekend, but no immediate reason was found for why the plane, which was 35 years old and was last serviced on August 8th, should have suddenly dived into the lake.
The accident happened in Taipalsaari, close to Lappeenranta. The single-engined Piper Arrow was carrying a flying instructor and two pupils. All three men were in their 30s and from the Greater Helsinki area.
The plane was on a training flight from Kuopio to Lappeenranta when it went down, after having first taken off from Malmi Airport in Helsinki earlier in the day.
Contact with the aircraft was lost by air traffic controllers shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday afternoon.
At no point before this had the pilot made mention of any technical or other problems.
Two bodies were recovered from the water shortly after the crash, and the third a few hours later.
An eyewitness out rowing at the time said he saw the plane falling nose-down straight out of the sky.
The aircraft broke up into several small pieces on impact, indicating considerable speed when it struck the water.
An accident investigation board is to be officially set up this week to look into the cause of the crash.
Investigators already examined the wreckage at the weekend, but no immediate reason was found for why the plane, which was 35 years old and was last serviced on August 8th, should have suddenly dived into the lake.
Helsingin Sanomat