Plane crash in lake east of Edmonton claims second victim

A student pilot pulled from the wreckage of a small plane that crashed into a lake east of Edmonton last week has died of his injuries.

The 24-year-old Leduc, Alta., man is the second person to die after Friday’s crash near the town of Tofield.

He had been airlifted from the crash site. He died of his injuries in hospital, RCMP told CBC News Wednesday.

Flight instructor Alex Lanovaz, 35, was declared dead at the scene.

Their plane, a single-engine two-seater built specifically for flight training, was found in the shallows of Beaverhill Lake early Saturday, hours after it was reported missing.

A passion for flight

Lanovaz would have been heartbroken to know his student had been killed, said Jesse Cummings, Lanovaz’s brother-in-law.

Lanovaz was a flight instructor at Cooking Lake Aviation Academy, where he also served as general manager. The school provides flight training from the Cooking Lake Airport, about 20 kilometres west of the crash site.

He took pride in teaching new people how to safely chart the skies, Cummings said.

Aviation was his calling, he said.

“He just loved to be out there at the school and at the hangar and teaching students,” Cummings said. “And more than anything, he just loved being in the air.”

Lanovaz leaves behind a wife and a household of five children who depended on him.

As they await answers from a Transportation Safety Board investigation, the family is taking solace in the knowledge that Lanovaz was doing what he loved best, Cummings said.

“He once told his son, on a flight they took together … looking out over the plains of Alberta, he said ‘This is as close as you can get to heaven while you’re here on earth.’

“He truly had a passion for it.”

Lanovaz and his student were on a standard training flight. They were due back to the airport well before sunset.

When darkness fell Friday, the search began.

After midnight on Saturday, helicopters dispatched by the RCMP and military located the craft, about 200 metres off shore.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Officials with the TSB recovered the wreckage from the water, along with aviation electronics that are expected to provide critical information on the plane’s final flight.

Cummings said his sister Sadie is reeling at the loss of her partner.

She and Lanovaz had plans for a bright future.The family has launched an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs and other expenses.

“The community support has been incredible,” Cummings said. “And Sadie needs that because her dreams have been shattered. And they had a lot of them.”

In a statement, she said Lanovaz was a loving husband and father. He leaves behind his sons Owen, Dylan, and Aaron, as well as two other children, Kara and Kaydence, for whom he had been a father figure, confidant, and caregiver, she wrote.

“He was an honest, hard working, and generous man, who was always there for anyone who needed him… his wisdom, skills, time, and love were always given selflessly and joyfully.

“Alex touched so many people’s lives, and will be deeply missed by all who were lucky enough to know him.”

Cummings said Lanovaz was a friend of the family long before he became an official member.

When Alex and Sadie married in 2017, Cummings was excited that his best friend and most reliable fishing buddy would now be his brother-in-law.

Lanovaz was generous, a selfless father and doting partner madly in love with his wife, Cummings said.

The pair, known for enjoying cappuccino together every morning and chatting over a cold beer after dinner, had an enviable kind of love, Cummings said.

“I think a lot of people just wish they could have the kind of relationship that Sadie and Alex had,” he said.

“He loved her with all his heart. He told me so all the time. As her big brother, I’m sure he wanted me to know how much he cared about her.

“Everything he did was to make sure she was happy and to provide for the children.”

Lanovaz had been flying professionally since early 2021 when he graduated from the aviation training program at Solomon College, based at Cooking Lake.

Lawrence Lau, the accountable executive at Cooking Lake Aviation, said the school has temporarily suspended flight training as staff and students recover from the shock of the tragedy.

The school is focused on supporting the families involved and co-operating with investigators, Lau said.

He described Lanovaz as a beloved colleague and dear friend.

Lanovaz previously worked as a glazier, Cummings said. The money was good but it was never the right fit, he said. Feeling unfulfilled after years in the trade, he decided to go back to school and learn how to fly.

“I think it’s something that he dreamed about even as a kid,” Cummings said.

“That is what he wanted to do. That’s what he wanted to be. Because of that, from that moment forward, he never worked another day in his life. He loved what he did.”