Plane wreckage from 1992 crash found near Kapuskasing, Ont.
The family of the couple who went missing after their plane crashed in northern Ontario more than 23 years ago is relieved the wreckage has finally been found.
James Bay OPP said the wreckage is from the single-engine plane reported missing on April 28, 1992. It was found in a remote area near the town of Kapuskasing.
At the time, the plane's occupants — Paul and Suzanne Joanis — were travelling from Toronto's Buttonville Airport to Hearst, Ont., after a business trip, said Achilles Joanis, Paul Joanis's brother.
"It was a bad night, wet rain, windy and everything, and he didn't make it to Hearst," he said.
"The Kapuskasing airport had the contact on him and the last place was about the area they found him yesterday."
Joanis received news of the find Thursday night.
"I was really proud of the people that found him," he continued. "I had a bad sleep last night, but it is OK. I was really relieved [by] the fact that ... we know what happened."
No remains found
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada is sending a team of investigators to the crash site.
No remains have been found, Kapuskasing OPP Staff Sgt. Mike Pilon said.
"We've also, from the police perspective, engaged the coroner's office and will be looking for the couple, for human remains, if we can find any," he said.
"Our investigation will be continuing from then on."
The crash was discovered by a contractor working for the forestry firm Tembec, which has logging operations in the area. The contractor was prepping the area for logging and came across plane debris in what Pilon described as a very remote location.
To get there, logging skidders and Argos had to be used.
The OPP helicopter was sent in, and was able to identify the aircraft using its serial number as a reference.
The Transportation Safety Board will now probe why the aircraft went down. Pilon said it was severely damaged and it may be difficult to determine exactly why it crashed.
Contact was lost with the plane about 55 kilometres south of Kapuskasing. At the time, an extensive search was undertaken, but the plane was never found.
The air search lasted close to two weeks, but was then scaled back to a ground search.
"Everyone was involved with the search," Joanis recalled. "It was wonderful, people are very generous here [in Hearst], it was unbelievable."
Joanis said his brother was well known and respected.
"His wife was in the hairdressing business and my younger brother Paul was in the boat business," he said.
Paul Joanis had about 10 years of flight experience, his brother said.
The couple had three children.
Map
Correction : A previous version of this story included photos from a plane crash that were not related to this story.(Aug 28, 2015 2:06 PM)
