Victims shared love of flying

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WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Investigators examine the wreckage of a biplane Thursday morning that crashed into a lagoon north of the Manitou airstrip, killing both occupants.

MANITOU -- Tony Butt's love of flying -- and his admiration for an amateur-built bright red-and-yellow open-cockpit biplane -- were evident on his Facebook page.

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Gilbert Bourrier, 64

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Tony Butt, 48

Butt, 48, made this clear just days before he died with his friend and fellow flyer, Gilbert Bourrier, in that same plane on Wednesday night.

Butt posted on his Facebook page a photograph of the Acro Sport II on Aug. 5, writing: "I will be strapping this little baby on first thing in the morning. Looking forward to watching the world go tumbling by. Something very spiritual about flying and aerobatics."

Butt and Bourrier, 64, both of Winnipeg, died on Wednesday shortly after taking off from the grass airstrip in Manitou, bound for the Lyncrest Flying Club near Winnipeg.

Crash investigators from the federal Transportation Safety Board are trying to determine what caused the plane to suddenly roll and plunge nose-first into a lagoon at the edge of the airstrip.

An eyewitness to the crash told the Free Press late Wednesday night he feared the worst when the plane dove into the lagoon at about 8 p.m.

"They had one fellow out and they were working on him (using CPR), but the other (man) was still inside," said Russ Langseth, an amateur pilot who was at the airport when the plane took off.

"It's terrible... something I never want to see again."

Langseth said the plane had just taken off, heading west, and was turning when he heard the engine get louder. He said the plane made a low pass over the runway and then started to roll.

"I saw it angling toward the lagoon, and in a fraction of a second, it hit it," he said. "It happened so fast."

Hours later, the wreckage of the plane, built in 2006 and registered by Bourrier in 2008, was still on the northern edge of the community lagoon.

Bourrier was in the final stages of receiving training from Butt on the high-performance aerobatic plane, said Luke Penner, Butt's friend.

Penner said Bourrier also owned another plane, a 1949 Aeronca 7 CCM Champ he registered in 1982, but the two planes required different skills to fly.

"The difference would be like comparing a Jetta to a Ferrari," he said.

"Tony was trying to bring him up to speed. He sent me text messages saying he was in the process of getting a new pilot ready for his plane."

On his Facebook site, Butt posted photos of the Acro Sport plane on Aug. 2 and wrote: "Flew the Acro Sport again tonight. Training the owner now.

"He is doing some nice landings and starting to relax and enjoy the aircraft. My job here will soon be done."

On Thursday, Butt's and Bourrier's fellow members of the Springfield Flying Club, located at Lyncrest Airport in the RM of Springfield just east of Winnipeg, and other members of the province's flying community, were mourning their deaths.

A member said he waved to the two men as they taxied by his hangar at about 6 p.m.

"I didn't know it was the last wave," he said sadly.

The member said he didn't leave the airport until around 9 p.m., and left the gate open because he saw the main door closed to Bourrier's yellow-and-green hangar and figured the pair had returned and were still inside filling out a flight report.

Two vehicles -- Bourrier's red pickup truck and Butt's blue car -- were still parked behind the hangar on Thursday.

"They were both good guys," said one club member, who did not want to give his name.

Another said, "It is unfortunate... They were the corner posts of our flying club. It is a very sad day for the club."

Kevin Adam, a friend of Butt's, said Butt leaves a wife, Heather, and two adult sons.

"He was just a great guy -- he was disliked by absolutely no one."

A Springfield Flying Club member said Bourrier was "just a decent guy. "He was always giving with his time and with his help."

Bill Zuk, former executive director of the Manitoba Aviation Council, said "the Springfield Flying Club is a close-knit group of recreational flyers and this is a devastating blow to the community of aviators in our province.

"The thoughts and prayers of everyone who knew these two fine gentlemen is extended to family and friends."

Dale Wersh, who flew with Butt and posted a video of the flight on YouTube, said "This is truly a tragic loss to friends, family and the air community.

"They were so pleasant and excited to share their airplane and skills in the air. I can hardly believe it. God bless them both and their families."

Two Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived at the scene of the crash Thursday morning and took photos as they tried to determine what led to the fatal plunge.

Investigator Ross Peden said it appears the plane sustained some kind of control loss, which will be investigated further. He said the plane is badly damaged and likely hit the water with tremendous force.

With this type of aircraft, any chance of surviving the impact would have been "slim," Peden said.

Peden said TSB officials will likely take parts of the plane back to Winnipeg for further analysis.

RCMP Sgt. Line Karpish said a group of people who were at the airport saw the plane go down and rushed over to the partially submerged wreckage to help. Karpish said witnesses were able to pull the passenger out of the plane. They performed CPR on one man, she said, but efforts to resuscitate him were not successful. The pilot was still inside the wreckage, she said.

Langseth, an aircraft enthusiast, said he talked to the pilot just moments before takeoff.

He said the man told him they had been out for a pleasure ride and had "stopped in for dinner and to fly out of a different airport."

Manitou Mayor Jake Goertzen said the town has one of the oldest rural airstrips in the province and is a popular destination for recreational pilots. He said it's probably been 20 years since Manitou has seen a similar tragedy.

Manitou resident Lisa Jago said she and her family were on their porch and watched the plane take off. Moments later, they heard a loud bang.

Jago said her husband, Clare, jumped in his truck and was one of the first people on the scene. He helped pull the passenger from the plane, she said, and tried to revive him.

"It was a pretty awful thing to have to respond to," she said, noting her husband is having a tough time.

-- with files by Jason Bell

jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca