Plane crash south of Sudbury leaves 3 dead

Three bodies have been found amid the wreckage of a plane that went missing from Sudbury, Ont., provincial police confirm.

The wreckage was found in a densely wooded areabetween the Pickerel River and French River, about 80 kilometres south of the northern mining community.

"It took quite a while to find it as it is a very desolate area," said Ontario Provincial PoliceConst. MilesLoach. "We haven't gotten to the site yet, but we can confirm it was the missing plane."

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centrebased atCFBTrenton had earlier reported that the Piper Saratoga aircraft's fuselage was found south of the Sudburyairport.

The plane, which was headed to North Carolina, was attempting to make an emergency landing just before4 p.m. on Tuesday, Loach said.

Police said the Transportation Safety Board has been notified and is sending a team to the site.

Reports of engine problems

A search for the aircraft began yesterday and continued through the night.

Military aircraft were deployed as part of the search, including a Herculesand a Griffon helicopter

Police said theywere advised just before 4 p.m. Tuesday that the planewas having engine problems and needed to land.

But radio contact was lost while the plane was about 20 kilometres south of Sudbury and 18 kilometres west of Key River, near French River Provincial Park.

Details emerging about the plane

The flight plan for a Piper Saratoga registered to Med-Law Aviation was available on the Flight Aware tracking site.

The plan showed a departure from Sudbury on Tuesday at 3:10 p.m. ET, and a scheduled arrivalin Winston-Salem, N.C. at 6:43 p.m. ET.

Med-Law Aviation is reportedly located at 125 Durham St. in Sudbury, which is also the address for local lawyer and pilot Leo Arseneau.

Arseneau, who is in his 60s, had a close call flying a plane in the summer of 2012. The battery for his radio and navigation equipment had died, causing him to land the aircraft on Highway 402, east of Sarnia, Ont. No one was injured in that incident.