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Transportation Safety Board believes pilot clipped power lines in fatal Abbotsford plane crash

Transportation officials believe the pilot of an ultralight plane that crashed near Abbotsford Monday night may have clipped a power line as he approached the airport in severe weather.

Transportation officials believe the pilot of an ultralight plane that crashed near Abbotsford Monday night may have clipped a power line as he approached the airport in severe weather.

The pilot and lone occupant of the ultralight plane died after his plane went down near the Trans-Canada Highway. His name has not been released.

Bill Yearwood, a spokesman for the Transportation Safety Board, said although an investigation is not yet complete, early reports suggest the pilot was flying below 1,000 feet in rainy weather. He said it looks like he clipped the power line less than two kilometres from the airport.

He noted that the pilot was flying within visual flight rules. Yearwood said while this type of crash doesn’t happen often, there have been a few cases where pilots have struck a power line.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada has sent an investigator to Abbotsford to examine the crash site.

Search and rescue crews, police and a Canadian Forces helicopter battled bad weather, darkness and technical problems before they located the plane just after 9 p.m., Abbotsford Police Const. Ian MacDonald said.

Searchers found the wreckage of the plane south of Highway 1 near Ross Road. The pilot was dead when they found him, said MacDonald in a news release. Police have notified his family.

The plane left Abbotsford airport in the direction of Maple Ridge when it disappeared from radar screens around 4:30 p.m.

MacDonald said crews had difficulty honing in on a beacon because it sent intermittent signals that were disrupted by nearby power lines.

Meantime, Trans-Canada Highway near Abbotsford has reopened to traffic after it was shut down for hours during the morning commute Tuesday.

Abbotsford police say two westbound lanes and on eastbound lane are open on Highway 1 between Mount Lehman and 264th Street. The stretch of highway had been closed because of the damaged power lines.