The lone pilot of a plane which had sent out a distress beacon on Tuesday morning was found dead at the scene on Thursday. He was an 84 year old man from Rosthern.

Slave Lake RCMP were alerted around 11:30 Tuesday morning, and were told the beacon came from about 11 kilometres northeast of Slave Lake.

However, police describe the terrain as very rugged with dense, forested hills and limited access. Weather was also a factor, so the search was limited to a ground search which along with the RCMP included Lesser Slave Regional Fire Services and Search and Rescue, Alberta’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and Royal Canadian Air Force Search and Rescue technicians.

Then, on Wednesday, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ontario deployed two planes, one from Winnipeg and one from Cold Lake, Alberta.

However, the search had to be put on hold in the evening because of the conditions. The pilot was travelling from Alberta to Saskatchewan.

RCMP say the cause of the crash has yet to be determined. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating.

{CJWW}