In a bittersweet moment following a tragic plane crash, a deceased pilot’s dog was found alive and well two days later near the wreckage.
A single-engine plane went down on the side of Mount King in Yoho National Park, Wednesday (April 27), killing pilot Ed Fedaj as he was flying from Vulcan to his home in Williams Lake, B.C.
At the time, Parks Canada’s rescuers followed dog tracks at the site of the plane crash, but did not find the dog, a border collie named Rusty, until they went back two days later.
“It was a bitter sweet moment,” said Brian Webster, Parks Canada’s visitor safety specialist. “The family, while distressed, was overjoyed to have the dog back.”
Working with Canadian Forces, which sent out an aircraft and helicopter from Comox, B.C., Parks Canada mounted a search and rescue operation and recovered the body of the pilot at about 3 p.m.
There was no sign of the dog at the crash site in the Otterhead River area, but the park search and rescue team followed the dog tracks leaving the site for a few hundred metres. They did not find the dog.
“In talking to the family, they were distressed about the fact this individual had died, but they gave us a heartfelt request to put special effort into searching for the dog,” said Webster.
On Friday (April 29), two park employees, JP Kors and Chris Gooliaff, rode a snowmobile and skied along an old fire road to the crash site, where they immediately found the dog.
“The dog had made it back to the plane, and surprisingly, the dog was not hurt and was very happy to see people after being out for two nights,” said Brewster.
The dog was taken to a veterinary clinic in Canmore, where he was given the once over and spent the night.
“The brother of the deceased was contacted and he came the next day and picked up the dog,” said Brewster. “He was overjoyed to get the dog back.”
