Canadians killed in Nashville plane crash identified as Ontario couple and 3 children

An Ontario couple and their three children have been identified as the victims of a deadly plane crash in Nashville.

Nashville police identified the pilot as 43-year-old Victor Dotsenko from King Township, north of Toronto, in a post on X, formerly Twitter,

Dotsenko’s wife, 39-year-old Rimma, and their three children, David, 12, Adam, 10, and Emma, 7, were also killed, police said.

King Township’s mayor, Steve Pellegrini, expressed condolences to the friends and relatives of the family.

“This is a heartbreaking and devastating loss for our tight-knit community,” he said on X.

Pilot recorded saying he wouldn’t make landing

U.S. authorities, meanwhile, continue to investigate the crash in Tennessee that occurred when a single-engine plane crashed alongside a highway west of downtown Nashville on Monday, killing all those aboard.

Investigator Aaron McCarter of the National Transportation Safety Board said the flight originated in Ontario.

In a recording of radio transmissions, the pilot tells air traffic controllers that his engine has shut down, he has overflown John C. Tune Airport and has circled around in an attempt to land.

A runway is cleared at the airport, but the pilot says the plane has already descended to 487 metres and that he’s too far away and isn’t going to make it.

Global Affairs Canada said it is aware of reports of the deaths of five Canadians in Tennessee but would not disclose any details due to privacy considerations.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada said it has assigned a representative to the U.S.-led investigation.

‘A terrible, terrible tragedy’

The plane was based at the Brampton Flight Centre, which is owned and operated by the Brampton Flying Club, said its general manager, Allan Paige. He could not say whether the plane took off from there, however, as the airport is uncontrolled and does not have flight records.

“It’s a terrible, terrible tragedy. We’re all deeply affected by it,” fellow pilot Tony Starcevic told CBC News outside the Brampton facility.

Starcevic said he knew the owner of the aircraft and was thinking of him and his family. “When this type of thing happens, it affects all of us and we all question our own safety. We’re all going to go brush up on our emergency procedures.”

The Canadian Civil Aircraft Register shows the aircraft was registered to a numbered company as of last July. The business is registered to an address in Vaughan, Ont., according to provincial business records.

Source: cbc.ca