Driver ‘shouldn’t be here’ after crash with plane in B.C. speared rod through seat

Pawliuk, a resident of the northern B.C. community, said he only suffered cuts and minor whiplash, but given the severity of the crash that sent a thick metal rod spearing through his roof and into the backseat at chest height, he “shouldn’t be here.”

Pawliuk shared photos showing his red Ford SUV with its roof mangled from the plane’s impact, the rod embedded in the backseat.

He was on his way to work driving along Foothills Boulevard around 2:20 p.m. when the plane came down, “speeding right towards us.”

The Transportation Safety Board has deployed a team to investigate what forced the Beech King Air 200 propeller plane to make the emergency landing.

Transport Canada registration data shows the plane was manufactured in 1980, and is owned by Sekani Air Ltd., based in Prince George.

Sekani Air did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pawliuk said he believed his vehicle’s suspension took the brunt of the impact since the plane struck downward.

He said he was “extremely lucky” to have walked away from the crash.

“I really shouldn’t be here,” he said in an interview.

“After the impact, I was able to know I was still alive, and I was covered in glass and small cuts,” Pawliuk said. “I opened the door and walked around my vehicle until shock set in, then I was sitting.”

Pawliuk was taken to hospital for assessment and released, although he said the shock of the crash kept him awake much of the night.

It was impossible to avoid the plane due to its speed, he added.

“I remember just missing the engine on the wing as I swerved as hard right as I could to get myself in the ditch,” Pawliuk recalled. “But the plane was moving at such an incredible rate, and I was struck in the rightmost lane.”

“None of my airbags went off. The plane kept going out of my sight,” he added.

Photos shared online show a pickup truck with the tip of a wing embedded in the windscreen, and a man with a bloodied face standing alongside.

Other photos show a vehicle in a ditch, and the plane on the roadside, its wing damaged and its door open.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 21, 2026.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press

Driver ‘shouldn’t be here’ after crash with plane in B.C. speared rod through seat

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