Plane crashes near Sheep River killing pilot
By
Pamela Roth
Staff Reporter
An 81-year-old man is dead after crashing his hiperlite plane into
the banks of the Sheep River in Okotoks on Wednesday.
The crash happened around 10:30 am off Sheep River Drive, killing
Jim Thomson of Calgary instantly.
Pauline Doyle was on her way from work in the area when she noticed
the small, red and white plane flying abnormally low overhead.
“It was very loud and had an irregular sound,” said Doyle.
“It did a spin that didn’t seem too abnormal, but after
the first spin it pointed down for the next one and quickly took a
nose dive and crashed.”
Doyle also said small pieces of the aircraft were hurled from the
plane as it began its series of spins.
Okotoks resident Rob Kuns also saw the last few seconds of the ill-fated
flight and was the first one to arrive at the crash site.
“I grabbed my cell right away and called 9-1-1,” said
Kuns. “I ran down to the ridge to see if I could see anything
moving, but I couldn’t see a body.”
When firefighters arrived on scene, they discovered the body buried
deep in the wreckage of the one-person plane.
Investigators are still trying to find out just what went wrong.
“There may have been some kind of malfunction with the craft
before it nose-dived into the ground.” said RCMP Sgt. Orlen
Haner. “We are still trying to piece everything together.”
Those who knew Thomson described him as a family man who had a passion
for flying.
Wayne Winters had the pleasure of getting to know Thomson at Winters
Air Strip near Indus and said not a day would go by when he wasn’t
at his hangar.
“He was a real enthusiast and was out here every day,”
said Winters. “If he wasn’t flying he was always fiddling
around with something on his airplane and was just a real good guy
to have around.”
One could say Thomson was a bit of a thrill-seeker, driving his vintage
Harley Davidson motorcycle by day and flying his small plane by night.
Having committed 1,700 to 1,800 hours as a flight instructor for the
Commonwealth Air Training Program during the second World War, there’s
no doubt in anyone’s mind that Thomson knew what he was doing
in the air.
“He was always very safety conscious,” said Winters. “All
of his stuff was just in immaculate condition.”
Thomson is the ninth victim in the province to be killed in an ultralite
airplane accident since 1999.
He leaves behind his wife, Joyce, and five children. 
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Okotoks firefighters and RCMP look
over the wreckage of an ultralite plane that crashed along the banks
of the Sheep River in Okotoks last Wednesday.
The lone occupant of the plane, pilot Jim Thomson, 81 of Calgary,
did not survive the accident. There were no other injuries. photo
by Luc Hébert |
Pedophile’s identity released to target groups,
but not to public
By Darlene Casten
Staff Reporter
Calls for public disclosure of the identity of two
pedophiles, who recently moved to Okotoks, will not be heeded.
Instead, assistant commissioner of Alberta K-Division, Bill Sweeney,
decided last week that limited distribution will take place.
Groups with young people in the age group of one of the men’s
victims, have been given the offender’s identity.
An assessment of the man, a three-time offender, was sent to K-division
officials in September.
The second man was not subjected to a dangerous offender assessment.
“Our commander reviewed the assessment and determined a targeted
disclosure of information was appropriate,” said Staff Sgt.
Glen Haner, of the Okotoks RCMP.
Residents who rallied at town hall following the announcement called
for the RCMP to disclose the man’s name, picture and address
to the public.
The targeted groups were given the man’s name and a picture
on Tuesday.
“The information was given to groups where potential risk
to reoffend against a targeted group was identified,” Haner
said.
The man was given three days to launch an appeal against the decision.
RCMP also disclosed the man’s reporting conditions, but not
his address.
However, those informed will not be able to disclose the information
to the public.
“They were notified of the individual’s presence so
they can take whatever precautions are necessary,” said Haner.
Despite backlash from residents, Haner said informing the public
that the men were moving into the community was the right move.
“At the start of this we just wanted to let the public know
that parents need to reinforce safety to their children,”
he explained.“The community has risen to the challenge.”
Block Parent and other community safety groups have benefitted from
the increased awareness with more volunteers, Haner added. He said
it is now up to officers and probation to monitor the reoffenders
activity.
“(Okotoks RCMP) and probation are aware of him and will be
monitoring his activity,” Haner said.
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In this issue...
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CLINCHED
Falcons claim
top seed
See Sports
UNDER CONTRACT
Foothills teachers
receive 2% hike
See News
SPECIAL
VISIT
Justin Trudeau
visits Oilfields
See News
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