Pilot killed in crop duster crash near Rosetown

By David McIver

ROSETOWN – An airplane crashed in the Rural Municipality of Marriott on Tuesday morning, killing its pilot.

The pilot, a man and the plane's sole occupant, was declared dead at the scene by ambulance staff, stated a Rosetown RCMP news release.

The RCMP had notified his family, said the release.

Transportation Safety Board (TSB) of Canada staff from Winnipeg took over the accident investigation from the RCMP the next day and subsequently issued this statement:

"At approximately 9:50 a.m. local time on August 25, an Air Tractor AT-502B, operated by Precision West Ag Corp (doing business as Provincial Airways), collided with terrain approximately 15 nautical miles northeast of Rosetown, Sask., during an aerial application flight."

The aircraft was substantially damaged. RCMP and local ambulance staff attended the scene. RCMP confirmed that the pilot was fatally injured.

TSB investigators examined and documented the wreckage, retrieved items for further review and conducted interviews, TSB media co-ordinator Liam MacDonald told The Eagle in the statement.

The investigators had returned to Winnipeg by Friday and will continue collecting and reviewing data "to get a better understanding of the events and to classify the occurrence," said MacDonald.

A fatal crash of a Precision West Ag Corp. crop duster had also occurred in 2024. An Ayres S2R-R1340 airplane had fallen onto a field, killing the pilot, near Birsay on July 19 that year, according to the TSB website.