Two investigators from the Transportation Safety Board arrived in the Iles-de-la-Madeleine on Wednesday morning to begin an investigation into a deadly plane crash.

Four more were set to arrive Wednesday afternoon.

The first phase of the investigation will involve combing through the wreckage and talking to witnesses. That will be followed by testing components of the plane for defects, then writing a report into the cause of the crash.

“We are in the process of documenting the accident site, which involves taking measurements, detailed surveys are being done,” said Mike Cunningham of the Transportation Safety Board. “We are being assisted by the Canadian Coast Guard, who is here doing some aerial photography for us, and the Surete du Quebec is also giving us a lot of assistance with providing us with a detailed site survey, which complements our own work.”

Seven people died Tuesday when a small plane crashed on the island in what many people have said were very poor weather conditions.

Environment Canada had issued a warning for strong winds on the island, and Air Canada had cancelled flights because of the weather.

Sureté du Quebec Sgt. Daniel Thibaudeau said on Tuesday that the plane lost control as it was making its approach to land, slamming into the ground several kilometres from the runway.

Witness Paul Delanay said he was just finished eating lunch when it occurred.

“I heard the sound of the airplane and the sound was louder than it was normally supposed to be,” he said.

Delanay rushed out, got into his truck and drove over to the field to see if he could help, but his calls were met with silence.

“I get to the plane and I asked if somebody could hear me, is somebody alive? And I got no answers from the airplane. The windows were blown out. And I saw a body on the seat,” he said.

Antonin Valiquette said he saw the plane hit the ground, bounce over a small hill and crash a second time before coming to a stop.

"I saw the plane hit the ground, went up the hill … there was a lot of parts flying around … and the condition of the plane after that was a wreck, honestly," Valiquette said.

"The second hit really took its toll on the plane."

Valiquette estimated that the crash site in Havre-aux-Maisons was about five or six kilometres from the local airport.

 

The plane was a Mitsubishi MU2 turboprop, registered in the United States and flown by Aero Teknic.

The plane was chartered by Jean Lapierre and his family, who were heading to the Iles de la Madeleine for the funeral of Raymond Lapierre.

ACASS pilot Barry MacLeod wonders why the plane took off in the first place when others, including Air Canada, cancelled their flights.

"We were trying to come yesterday, but the weather was just below our limits. We fly a different airplane than the one that they were in. Each airplane has a different personality, shall we say. But the weather yesterday was really below limit for us," he said. "It's very sad, very sad. It's kind of like it didn't need to happen. If they had waited 24 hours -- here we are, blue skies a balmy spring day in les Iles."

Six people aboard the plane died on impact, with a seventh dying in hospital.

The dead have been identified as Jean Lapierre, the well-known political commentator and former MP, his wife Nicole Beaulieu, brothers and sister Marc, Louis, and Martine.

Pilot and co-pilot Pascal Gosselin and Fabrice Labourel also died in the crash.  

For the small community, the crash is a terrible shock that touches everyone. People say Lapierre never forgot is small-town roots.

“Every time he would come in, he would be coming over to my place, and talk and take a drink,” said Lapierre family friend Simeon Arseneau.