The report released Monday details the events leading up to the late April crash near Sioux Lookout of the privately registered Piper Cherokee PA-28-140. At the time, passengers Duncan Bailey of Kamloops, BC, and Gene Karl Lahrkamp of Kincardine, Ont., were wanted on charges of gang murder.
Lahrkamp was wanted by the Royal Thai Police in connection with the death of a man in Thailand earlier this year. Bailey had been charged with conspiracy to commit murder for a 2020 shooting in Vancouver. A few days before the crash, a warrant was issued for Bailey’s arrest for violating bail conditions. Ontario Provincial Police also identified the pilot as Abhinav Handa, 26, of Richmond, BC. The remaining passenger was Hankun Hong, 27, also of Richmond.

The plane was declared overdue

The plane had departed Dryden Regional Airport shortly after 9 p.m. and was bound for Marathon. He was reported overdue at approximately 1:40 am. on April 30. The TSB said the aircraft was seen on radar at 9:45 p.m. of April 29, to perform a zig-zag route over an area with limited lighting. A search led to the discovery of debris in a wooded area about 35 kilometers south-southeast of Sioux Lookout. Conditions during the flight were difficult for non-instrument flight. It was cloudy, with no moonlight, in a remote area in the northwestern Ontario bush. “These regions are referred to as black holes; flying over them is difficult,” the TSB report states. The report also noted light rain and fog during the flight. The pilot, Handa, as well as Hong, who was in the front right seat, each had a commercial pilot’s license, but neither was qualified to fly with instruments alone, the report said. The wreckage of the Piper PA-28 Cherokee was discovered in the Kukukus Lake area, about 40 kilometers southeast of Sioux Lookout, according to Ontario Provincial Police. The small passenger plane was headed from Dryden to Marathon when it crashed. (CBC) In its report, the TSB states that the pilot was certified for single-engine and multi-engine aircraft. The TSB said its investigation revealed no pre-existing problems with the aircraft or its engine. Local weather conditions at the time of the crash were “consistent with those that could produce carburetor ice”, although no signs of icing were found. The TSB said the aircraft was overloaded by about 170 pounds during the flight.