Ridge man dies in island plane crash

Terry Axton was on Grumman Goose that crashed into a mountain near Alice Lake

A Maple Ridge man was among five people who died in a plane crash on Vancouver Island Sunday.

The Grumman Goose was travelling from Port Hardy to Chamiss Bay, near Kyuquot, when it crashed into the side of a mountain near Alice Lake.

Four Seaspan International employees perished in the crash along with the pilot of the Pacific Coastal Airlines plane, 36-year-old Simon Lawrence.

The B.C. barge company calls the accident “the worst in its over 100 year history.”

In a memo sent to employees on Wednesday, Seaspan CEO Steve Frasher said he hopes “the families will continue to get the assistance and time they need to come to terms with this tragic event.”

Maple Ridge’s Terry Axton, 51, worked as a log loader and had been an employee of Seaspan for 30 years. He is survived by his partner and two children.

Axton’s family said he loved his job and would comment on how lucky he was to fly over the British Columbia coast and see the beautiful scenery. He was always in awe of the magnificent sunsets and sunrises.

Axton’s crew on his barge “Harvester” were like family to him.

A press release from Axton’s family said when he went to work, he would take along the copies of newspapers from the last few days to “the guys on the tug” who may have been at sea for a few weeks.

The crash site could not be seen from the air, and text messages from a survivor were crucial in helping search and rescue teams find the wreckage about six hours later.

Both survivors also worked for Seaspan.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation. The wreckage has been taken to the Transportation Safety Board’s lab in Richmond.