Body of pilot killed in Little Grand Rapids plane crash recovered, RCMP say

The body of the pilot who died in a float plane crash near Little Grand Rapids, Man., last month was recovered fromFamily Lake Tuesday night, RCMP said in a news release.

RCMP search and rescue crews have been searching the lake since Oct. 26 when police saidwitnesses sawthe plane gointo the lake. Three people were on board.

Mounties said the 39-year-old pilot's body was pulled from the water yesterday and the body of the 42-year-old passenger was also found.

RCMP are currently trying to recover his body as well.

Last month,Ed and Steve Gaffray, the owners of Blue Water Aviation, identified the pilot as Jonathan Friesen.

Friesenwas an experienced pilot who loggedover 9,000 flight hours and worked for the air charter service for 17 years 15 of which were spent flying de Havilland Otter airplanes, the model of plane that crashed on Oct. 26,the owners said.

"Blue Water is a family run company.This tragedy has deeply touched usall," they said, adding that their thoughts are with the families of the victims.

The rescue team recovered the body of a third man, a 49-year-old, on Oct. 28.

RCMP said in its release Wednesday thatthe investigation was turned over to the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

"More than likely we'll conduct a full investigation with a report," Alex Fournier, a spokesperson for the TSB told CBC News.

"We're still making decisions on the level of investigation we'll undertake."

Little Grand Rapids is located about 270 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.