buttonville plane crash

Dashcam video shows small plane nearly hitting a car in Markham

Today in "wild GTA highways happenings," we have dashcam footage that makes a flying hunk of wood look like an overfed mosquito.

The video in question, captured near Highway 404 and 16th Avenue in Markham on Tuesday afternoon, starts as most dashcam videos do: with nothing but open road in front of the vehicle it's attached to.

Seconds into the clip, a small, low-flying plane slides quickly across the driver's path. Its wing tip can be seen scuffing the road as it comes within inches of the motorist before jutting out of frame, slamming into a fence, and stopping in a ditch. 

Police told CTV news that one instructor pilot and one student pilot were inside the plane at the time. Both were mostly unharmed, as was the driver who narrowly escaped what could very well have been a fatal collision.

The incident, which took place just north of the Buttonville Airport, remains under investigation, but local aviation photographer Tom Podolec says the duo were "doing circuits and practicing touch and go on runway 33" before they crashed.

York Regional Police did close off both the eastbound and westbound lanes of 16th Avenue near the 404 shortly after 2 p.m. as a result of the crash.

The pilot and their passenger were treated for minor injuries by paramedics at the scene, according to Markham Fire. The plane itself was eventually removed from a ditch via crane.

"Highway 404 re-opened in all directions after plane removed," announced Richmond Hill Councillor Godwin Chan around 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

"One accident is too many for [Richmond Hill's] comfort!" he tweeted to Nav Canada, which operates Canada's civil air navigation service. "Please bring back aviation control to Buttonville Airport."

Lead photo by

James Arianne


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