Summary

  • The mystery of the Cessna fuselage found in a backcountry field near Kamloops, BC has been solved – it was a search and rescue training site.
  • The training exercise was so realistic that it was reported as a plane crash and assigned a case number by the Government of Canada.
  • The fuselage was identified as a vintage two-seater Cessna from 50 to 60 years ago, much older than originally estimated.


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The mystery of a Cessna aircraft fuselage found in a privately owned backcountry field near Kamloops, British Colombia, in Canada, has finally been solved. What initially appeared to be the disastrous wreckage of an unreported plane crash has turned out to be the remains of a seasonal search and rescue training exercise site of the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association. That’s according to news reports about the strange incident.


The mystery near Kamloops

It’s a strange case of mistaken identity. The accident training scene was so realistic that it was even assigned Government of Canada Civil Aviation Daily Occurrence Reporting System case number 2023P2832.

The report details that on November 3, a hunter notified the local flight information center of the location of an airplane fuselage of unknown origin that appeared to be 20 to 25 years old. Only the fuselage remained without any available markings or registration numbers to identify the aircraft.

A Cessna 172 flying in the sky.

Photo: Robert Buchel | Shutterstock

According to the Government of Canada public report, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were called to respond to the incident, and it was turned over to the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Victoria and the Transportation Safety Board of Canada for further investigation.

The Victoria Flying Club

Reporting in Castanet Kamloops said that there was only one potential lead on any further information about the Cessna fuselage’s mysterious remains – a Victoria Flying Club decal. That was enough for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to contact the club to see if they could help solve the mystery.

A transportation official contacted the club for more details to solve the case and discovered they were not missing any aircraft. However, the airline aficionados identified the fuselage as one that appeared to be from a two-seater Cessna from 50 to 60 years ago, much older than the reported 20 to 25-year estimate.

The Civil Air Search and Rescue Association connection

Ultimately, transportation officials were able to connect the airplane to the Civil Air Search and Rescue Association’s search and rescue training program, according to reporting from The Canadian Press.

A representative for the organization said in an article about the incident that he was caught off guard by the fact that their training fuselage, which was deployed to the backwoods field about two years ago, could have created such a stir with national transportation officials.

A Cessna Skyhawk flying over an urban area.

Photo: Textron Aviation

They even claimed to have registered the training “crash site” and its location with the proper aviation authority in Canada – the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Joint Rescue Coordination Center. They have since taken the additional steps to notify the Royal Canadian Mounted Police of the location and use of the disassembled fuselage if another hunter stumbles on the “accident scene” in the future.

“We do need to train, and we take our training very seriously, and we try to make it as realistic as possible,” said the search and rescue organization’s representative in a news report from The Canadian Press about the incident.

The search and rescue group said there were several simulated airplane crash sites around the region, but they refused to provide more information.

Do you agree that the strange fuselage in a backwoods field should have sparked so much concern from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other transportation authorities in Canada? Share your thoughts on this case in the comments below.

Sources: Government of Canada CADORS Report, Castanet Kamloops, The Canadian Press

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