Pilot dead, thousands without power after northwestern Alberta plane crash

Federal officials are en route to northwestern Albertato investigate a plane crash that killed a pilot and took out power around Fort Vermilion, RCMP say.

The crash, reported to Fort Vermilion RCMP at 8 p.m. MT Saturday,happenedin a field near Township Road 1090 and Range Road 152, tens of kilometres northwest of Fort Vermilion, a hamlet about 560 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, according to a news release RCMP issued late Saturday night.

First responders found the pilot,the only person in the plane, dead at the scene, police said. RCMP didnot report other casualties.

As of Saturday night, Mountieswere holding the scene for Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigators, policesaid.

The TSB, which did not immediately respond to CBC News' request for information,examines transportation incidentsto prevent similar occurrences in thefuture. Its investigationsdo not assign blame and its findings cannot be used in legal or disciplinary findings althoughcoroners and medical examiners can use findings in their own investigations.

The crash "affected power to all homes and several rural areas"in the area, police said.

ATCO Electric, which powers much of rural Alberta, sent crews to the area Saturday nightafter learning an "emergency incident" caused damage to the transmission line servingLa Crte, Alta., and the surrounding area, according to company social media posts.La Crte is just southwest of Fort Vermilion.

More than 3,800 customers were affected bythree outages in the area as of Sunday morning. Each outage startedat 8:10 p.m. MT Saturday,according to the company'soutage map.

ATCO Electric expects all repairs to be completed by about2:30 p.m. MT Sunday, a company spokesperson told CBC News.