The wreckage of the plane crash on May 2, 2022 is seen between two houses from the street. (Photo Courtesy Bob Schneider)

By Chris Brown

Medicine Hat man speaks on ‘rare and unique’ tale of how a plane crashed into his house

May 4, 2022 | 10:50 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Jenman Luk says it seemed so wild and he thought it was a prank the dispatcher told him Monday evening that a plane crashed into a house he’s building in Saamis Heights.

But things would get even wilder when Luk found out how the plane got there.

The light plane, a Bellanca Citabria 7GCBC, took off from Schlenker Airport just south of Desert Blume.

It came to rest around 8:30 p.m. about five kilometres away in the backyard at 119 Sunset Dr. SW overlooking Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course.

All without anyone on board.

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Later at the crash site, Luk met the owner of the plane. He told Luk as best he could what happened while he was doing spring maintenance on the aircraft.

“So he couldn’t start the plane and as soon as he figured it out or he was outside of the plane like on the engine and tinkering with stuff or whatever and once the plane, he got it to start, and once the plane started I don’t know, if it was in a gear a flying gear I don’t know how planes work it just took off, once the engine started it just took right off,” Luk recounted.

There were no injuries to anyone, prompting Luk to say the accident happened at the right house at the right time and that it could have been a much worse situation. Knowing that, Luk is able to be good-humoured about the accident.

“So usually you want to start the plane sitting in the seat but this time…,” he said. “And I could see this happening. This is something that I could probably do on a truck, like, or a tractor or something that just you can’t get started. You hop out you bypass some things whatever you gotta do to get it started. It’s just in this case scenario it’s so rare and unique.”

Luk says there is a little bit of damage to the house after the plane slid into a post under the deck and into the fence. The plane suffered significant damage.

He adds the plane’s owner was nice, probably in a lot of shock and apologetic when the two spoke and exchanged information.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is investigating the incident and Luk is waiting to be told what the next steps are.

The wreckage of the plane crash on May 2, 2022 is seen between two houses from the street. (Photo Courtesy Jenman Luk)

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