Grand Manan gathers for final goodbye to pilot Klaus Sonnenberg

Family and friends gathered Saturday to remember Klaus Sonnenberg, the pilot who died when his small charter crashed last weekendon Grand Manan Island, killing a paramedic and injuring two others.

Hundreds of people turned out for the funeral service at theGrandMananCommunity School. Many businesses closed for the afternoon.

Sonnenberg was well known on the island. He was president of Atlantic Charters, the company that provided air ambulance service and shuttled patients to Saint John Hospital.

Lynne Blanchard knew Sonnenberg well. He married her cousin.

"He was just a super guy," said Blanchard, who lives in Boston.

"My dad had a stroke on Grand Manan about 10 years ago and it was Klaus who flew him to a hospital in Boston.

"He'sjust a wonderful husband, father, family man and the familyis just devastated."

CBC reporter Shane Fowler said several people described Sonnenbergas "legendary."

Sonnenbergdied last Saturday when his plane crashed near the small airport in Grand Manan after returning from Saint John to drop off a patient. Paramedic William Mallockwas also killed.

First responders from across Canada joined hundreds of other mourners Wednesday for Mallock's funeral.

• Funeral for William Mallock draws hundreds of mourners

Members of the paramedic honour guard lined the route of the funeral procession toGrand Manan Community School the only building large enough to accommodate the large group.

The plane has been removed from the site and taken to Nova Scotia, while the components have been sent to Ottawa.

Family and friends ofMallockandSonnenbergwere permitted to visit the crash site earlier in the week for some closure.

Someone left asmall cross made from wood and parts of the plane's fuselage at the site.

The Transportation Safety Board is investigating.