A passenger was killed when a small plane flying a “Will You Marry Me?” banner crashed onto an island.
The pilot of the plane, a 1974 Cessna 172, was allegedly injured when it crashed in Parc Dieppe in the Canadian city of Monteal at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, near a music festival.
As rescue personnel hurried to the area, videos uploaded online showed the jet engulfed in a massive ball of flames minutes after crashing. Police were spotted tape off surrounding streets and monitoring the St. Lawrence River near the location of the falling marriage proposal sign.
The pilot has been identified as Gian Piero Ciambella, owner of an aerial advertising agency Aerogram. The passenger who died has not been publicly identified.
CTV News reported that the plane took off from St-Mathieu-de-Laprairie Airport at 5.46pm, with evidence suggesting that when the plane touched the ground, it bounced and spun before coming to a rest.
An eyewitness, Laura Scala said;
”It seemed like the normal height that a plane like that would fly when it has a banner.
“We struggled to read what the banner said… It said ‘Will you marry me.”
Though the cause of the crash has not been determined, the Canadian press reported that authorities received reports of engine trouble on the Cessna 172 aircraft. The plane engine has been sent to Ottawa for examination.
A spokesperson for Canada’s Transportation Safety Board said;
“We are looking to speak to the pilot when possible.
“We haven’t ruled out anything yet. We need to take a close look at everything.”
While the ‘will you marry me banner’ has not yet been found, it was gathered that Mr Ciambella made headlines in 2016 when he made an emergency landing on Parc Avenue in front of Jeanne-Mance Park after his engine stalled.
CBC News reported that the accident which resulted in no injuries, earned him the Robert-Piché award for achieving a life-saving “extraordinary piloting feat”.
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