This morning after 9:00, a fatal plane crash shocked the community of Spanish Lookout. Well-known crop duster pilot Henry Plett was in the air when his aircraft flipped freakishly forward and fell to the ground.
Plett did not survive the crash, leaving the entire community to grieve. He worked with many farmers across Spanish Lookout and was a well-loved member of the community.
Courtney Menzies went there to find out more and has this story.
Henry Plett manned this crop duster and others like it for decades, working to fertilize and care for many farms in Spanish Lookout. But though he was a skilled and experienced pilot, this morning, his aircraft crashed, killing him instantly.
This is the dramatic video of the plane freakishly pitching forward in mid turn and falling to the ground.
It's not the type of accident that frequently occurs and as such has left the community in shock. As it is, he was supposed to fertilize Heartland Acres' rice fields. The owner, Jerry Friessen explained that they've been working closely for over ten years.
Jerry Friessen, Owner, Heartland Acres
"That was very shocking, we work with him on a daily basis, we grow a lot of rice, if you've ever eaten Granny's Rice, that comes from this farm, and Mr Henry did all of our fertilization and all the nutrition and stuff like that with the plane so we worked with him on a daily basis and it's very sad, he was a close brother."
"He was honest, loyal, I mean if we set a time when we would meet at the airport to fly, he was never a minute late, very loyal to us and our farm and always went out of his way to make sure we were okay."
Friessen added that Plett was not just a good worker, but also a good friend.
Jerry Friessen, Owner, Heartland Acres
"He was always interested in what we were doing, if he would fly for other farmers he would take pictures of our field and just if there's anything he saw that concerned him he would let us know and if I ever needed a ride in a Cessna plane on a Sunday, give my kids a ride or something, he wouldn't hesitate and minute, he would always be there, he was just a very good hearted man."
And with Plett gone, many farmers will now have to find someone else to tend to their farms.
Jerry Friessen, Owner, Heartland Acres
"There's two arial applicator businesses here but he worked with a lot of farmers like for example us, we depended on him and so are many more farmers so he was very well known to the farming community because of the flying services and there's only two companies that do that and so one of them is currently down."
"It's a huge loss, it's a big shock because like I said, most farmers know him and it's not a job that everybody does and not everybody can replace in a heartbeat, it takes a lot of training, a lot of years of practice, and so for the farmers it's a really sad day. We're just kind of chilling out and enjoying the people that are still around and try to grapple with the fact that he's gone."
Plett did not have any children.
