Botched float plane theft leaves 3 aircraft damaged in Vancouver harbour

On a brightFebruary morning onVancouver's seawall, several peoplestood gawking atthe float plane terminal in the harbour below, wonderingwhy aplane in the water was docked in the wrong spot andmissing awing.

The right wing of theSeairfloat plane had beensheared off at the base. The de Havilland Beaverwasfloating backwards at another company's dock, itsseveredwing nowhere to be seen.

"I'm wondering where the wing went. It's probably at the bottom or somewhere," said Bob McKnight, who made a special trip to the seawall after seeing photos online of the hamstrungplane.

"It's not often you see a wingless Beaver."

The float plane was one of threedamaged Friday when someone tried to steal theSeairaircraft from the Vancouver Harbour FlightCentre in the middle of the night, takingit across the harbourand intothe other planes.

Police said someone reported a man tryingto take the planefrom the Seair terminal at around 3:30 a.m. PT.

The suspect never took off, but managed to taxi around the corner to the neighbouring Harbour Air terminal. He then crashedinto a plane owned by Harbour Air, according to a statement.

A second Harbour Air plane was also damaged in the incident, bringing the total to three.

One wing on aHarbour Air plane was badly bent in the middle, its tip hanging down toward the water. The droopedsection was later removed as officials investigated, leaving the de HavillandSingle Otter with just a stub.

Vancouver police Const. Tania Visintin said no one was hurt in the incident. No one has been arrested, butinvestigatorswere still on scene well into Friday morning.

McKnight and other passersbybuzzed with theories.

"I thought, 'Wow, did they get the guy? And did he know what he was doing?" McKnight said.

"Obviously [he] knew how to start it, I guess."

Harbour Air temporarily re-routed flights to the company's terminal at YVR in Richmond, but normal service soonresumed. The airlineflies between Vancouver,Whistler, Seattle, the Sunshine Coast,the Gulf Islands andparts ofVancouver Island.

Seair said late Friday morningit wasstill rerouting its passengers to its terminal at YVRas police investigate the incident. The company flies between Vancouver and Nanaimo, as well as the Gulf Islands.