Float plane crash near Tadoussac, Que., kills 6

Six people who were on board a single-engine plane that crashed Sundayin Quebec's North Shore region have been found dead.

Quebec provincial police confirmed the deaths Monday afternoon.

The deHavillandBeaver float plane, operated byAir Saguenay, went down in a heavily wooded area near Les Bergonnesafter takingoff from Long LakenearTadoussac.

• Seaplane crashes on Quebec's North Shore

Although theSretduQubecwould not name any of the victims, CBC News has confirmed the identities of two:RomainDesrosiers, the pilotof thesingle-engine Beaver seaplane, andEmilieDelaitre, a 28-year-old woman from France.

Police saidDesrosiers was anexperienced pilot and the weather conditions on Sunday were optimal.

A nosedive?

Investigators from theTransportation Safety Board got to the site of the plane crash on Monday afternoon.

PierreGavillet, an air branchinvestigator, told CBC News that the plane crashed into a rocky mountain.

"Whatwe noticed at first sight is that there is not a horizontal trajectory that entered the trees. We have trees that are intact and we have a plane that is on the ground that crashed vertically, between the trees,"Gavilletsaid, adding that the aircraft was heavily damaged.

"There was a post-impact fire. There was a fire in the cabin area."

JulieLerouxfrom theTransportation Safety Boardsaid investigators will try to determine the cause of the crash.

"They will examine the wreckage, they will collect data, they will take photos for the investigation, and then they will conduct interviews with witnesses and the company,"Lerouxsaid.

Plane never returned

Police said they received a call from Air Saguenay around 2 p.m. ET on Sunday to say the plane hadn't returned at its scheduled time.

SQ spokesman Sgt. Jean Tremblay said the terrain where the crash happened is steep, and the rain throughout Mondaymorning made the recovery effort difficult.

The remote area is not accessible by road, meaning search crews hadto travel by foot and on ATVs to reach the crash site.

The Canadian Forces base in Halifax dispatched aCormorant helicopter on Sunday and sent in people by parachute.

The aircraft was built in 1956.AirSaguenay said the motor in the plane was brand new.

Flight operator 'devastated'

AirSaguenayroutinely flies tourists around in the area, as well as people heading to hunting and mining camps.

The company's vice-president, JeanTremblay, saidthe pilot had about 6,000 hours of flying experience.

The aircraft he was flying was built in 1956.AirSaguenay said the motor in the plane was brand new.

Tremblay said this is a difficult day for the people at his company and thathis thoughts are with the families of those who died in the crash.

"Everyone is devastated," he said.

The municipality ofTadoussacissued a statement Monday afternoon, offering condolences.

"Our thoughts are with the victims and their families,"the statement said. "The quality of the experience and the safety aspects of the various tourist activities remain at the heart of our concerns ... The municipality of Tadoussac will follow closely the results of the investigation led by the Transportation Safety Board. This will shed light on this sad incident and will provide the necessary recommendations in order to prevent such a situation from happening again."

Commotion on radio airwaves

Recreational pilotJean-Louis Brub was flying his aircraftat the time of the crash when heheard a commotion over the air traffic radio.

"There was a lot of action on the airwaves," he said.

Brub saidthe conditions at the time were excellent for flying.

"No clouds, no wind, no fog," he said.

This is the second time an Air Saguenay seaplane has been involved in a fatal crash.

In July 2010, four of the six people aboard a de Havilland Beaver died, in part because the pilot took off despite bad weather.