Graham man killed, son injured in B.C. floatplane crash that took three other lives
A Graham man was killed and his son severely injured in a floatplane crash Friday in British Columbia.
Three others also died, and four passengers were injured.
Steven Price, 72, the owner of Coastal Steel Inc. was killed, according to Rich Weatherbee, the Tacoma’s company’s controller and longtime friend of the family.
Price’s son, Doug, sustained serious injuries to his legs and is in a Vancouver hospital, Weatherbee said.
The Prices were traveling in a Cessna 208 Caravan which left Vancouver bound for a fishing lodge north of Vancouver Island. It was carrying one pilot and eight passengers.
“They were talking and having a good time and all of a sudden (Doug) looked out the window and saw trees and knew he was in trouble,” Weatherbee said. “It was only a matter of seconds later they hit the tree tops and went down.”
The weather at the time was rainy and foggy, Weatherbee said Doug Price reported.
The plane went down around 11 a.m. on forested and sparsely inhabited Addenbroke Island.
The Cessna was bound for Ole’s Hakai Pass Fishing Lodge located off Hecate Island, according to the Vancouver Sun newspaper.
The plane crashed just 11 miles from completing its 275-mile journey.
Two survivors were airlifted to Vancouver in critical condition, and three others were in serious but stable condition at local hospitals, the Sun reported.
“We hope to move (Doug) down here to Harborview as soon as he’s stabilized,” Weatherbee said.
Doug is the secretary-treasurer and estimator for Coastal Steel, Weatherbee said. The company erects steel-framed structures and has built Fred Meyer, Walmart and Ikea buildings, he said. Steven Price started the company in 2005.
The British Columbia coroner’s office would not release the names of the four people killed but said their bodies had been taken to Vancouver Island.
“The decedents are the pilot, a male in his 50s from Vancouver, and three passengers, a male in his 40s from South Carolina, a male in his 60s from Germany, and a male in his 70s from Washington State,” a statement from the office said.
Family members and press reports identified the pilot as Al McBain.
“The Coroners Service’s investigation will also look to determine how, where, when and by what means these men came to their sudden, unexpected deaths,” the statement said.
On Wednesday afternoon, an official with the U.S. State Department said they were in contact with local authorities in British Columbia.
“The U.S. Embassy in Ottawa and the U.S. Consulate in Vancouver are providing all appropriate consular assistance to the families of U.S. citizens involved in the crash,” the official said.
Steven Price was an avid fisherman and made around four trips a year to Canada, many of them to Ole’s, Weatherbee said. He competed in and often won tournaments.
“They are legendary here at Ole’s,” the lodge wrote in a 2013 post about the pair.
“If he wasn’t catching fish, nobody was,” Weatherbee said.
Price’s family, friends and employees of Coastal Steel are in grief, Weatherbee said, but there is a small comfort.
“We considered he died doing what he enjoyed the most,” Weatherbee said.
This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 6:20 AM with the headline "Graham man killed, son injured in B.C. floatplane crash that took three other lives."
