Two killed in Cessna 172 crash in Canada

Two people were killed when a Cessna 172 light aircraft crashed near Kisbey, a community in southeastern Saskatchewan, Canada, during a night training flight early Friday, September 18, the flight school that owns the aircraft said.

Adam Penner, president of Harv's Air, said in a statement that the aircraft was registered to the school, which is based in St Andrews, Manitoba. It was flying from Regina, the Saskatchewan capital, to Steinbach in Manitoba, with a planned stop at Carlyle in Saskatchewan.

Penner said both people on board were licensed pilots who had rented the aircraft to build flying hours towards their commercial pilot licences.

The aircraft was reported overdue to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), the country's air accident investigation agency, at 10:30am local time (CDT). The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, which leads air and maritime search operations in Canada, coordinated the response.

Lieutenant Zoë Hollander, a public affairs officer at the centre, said a Canadian military CC-138 Hercules aircraft from 435 Squadron located the crash site. Search and rescue technicians then parachuted into the area. She said the centre handed the case over to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) after the search and rescue phase was completed.

According to the flight school, the aircraft was found at about 6pm CDT, with both people on board dead at the scene. The school said 'the entire Harv's Air family is shocked and saddened by this tragedy' and extended condolences to the families and friends of the two pilots.

The TSB, Transport Canada and the RCMP are working with the school to determine the cause of the crash. A TSB spokesperson told SaskToday that investigators were expected to arrive at the site around midday on Saturday.

Authorities have not released the identities of the two pilots, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.

CBC reported that the incident was the third involving Harv's Air since January 2025. In January 2025, a small aircraft's propeller struck an instructor, seriously injuring them as a student attempted to start the engine. In July 2025, two student pilots were killed when their single-engine aircraft collided in mid-air during a training exercise.