Witnesses came to the aid of Cloquet residents after Ontario plane crash

Witnesses who rushed to the scene of a small plane crash in northwestern Ontario earlier this week are credited with helping save the lives of three Northland residents aboard the aircraft.

Canadian media outlets, citing friends and neighbors, identified the three Cloquet residents aboard the Cessna 180 float plane as Art Martin, 78; his son, Jeff Martin, 44; and Linda Way, 62.

Art Martin and Way were seriously injured, the CBC reported. Martin was transferred to a hospital in Thunder Bay; messages left at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center seeking an update on his condition were not returned Friday.

Way was transferred to a hospital in Duluth. Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center reported that a patient named Linda Way was listed in serious condition on Thursday afternoon.

Jeff Martin was not seriously injured.

The crash happened about 9:30 a.m. Wednesday as the plane attempted to take off from Trout Lake, north of Kenora, Ontario, the Ontario Provincial Police reported. Witnesses told the Kenora Daily Miner and News that the plane lost power as it attempted to turn back to land on the lake shortly after takeoff; it crashed into a wooded area.

Several people living on the lake got into boats, made their way to the crash site and provided first aid to the victims, the CBC reported.

“People really pulled together; it helped a lot,” provincial police Sgt. Dean Barclay told the Daily Miner and News.

Art Martin appeared to be the most seriously injured, witnesses told the newspaper; rescuers had to lift the fuselage to free one of his arms.

Rescuers used pontoon boats to evacuate the victims to a waiting helicopter and ambulances. They told the Daily Miner and News that Art Martin was a longtime summer resident of Trout Lake, and that he had been flying planes for decades.

The accident remains under investigation, provincial police said Friday.

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