A Prince George man has been identified as the pilot and lone occupant of a plane that crashed Thursday afternoon west of Calgary.
Steve Kostamo, 39, was taken to Foothills Hospital where he is listed in serious condition, media in the Alberta city are reporting.
He was flying a home-built single-engine plane, a Storm S-280 two seater, when it crashed shortly after 3 p.m. near the access road to Calaway Park.
The vice-president of Calaway Park said the operator of the plane was an experienced pilot who was working at the amusement park as a contractor. He had been taking off and landing his plane in the Calaway Park parking lot throughout his time there.
Kostamo was flying back to Prince George when the crash occurred, according to family. He had taken off from a parking lot at Calaway Park but did have clearance from the Park and nearby Springbank Airport, according to media reports.
Transportation Safety Board, which typically looks into all crashes involving aircraft, said they will not be investigating because the pilot survived the incident and the crash involved a home-built plane.
