Debris of missing cargo plane found in North Shore Mountains

UPDATE: The bodies of the two missing pilots have been located near Crown Mountain.

Search and rescue crews have located a debris field believed to be from the cargo plane that vanished from radar while flying over the North Shore mountains today.

One wing and the fuselage have been located within a steep area of mountain terrain near Mount Seymour, but the two pilots – the only passengers on the plane – have not been found.

On Monday morning, Cargo Air Flight 66 departed YVR at 6:43 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at Prince George at 8 a.m.

At the time of the disappearance, the SA-266 Metro plane was above the Grouse Mountain and Mount Seymour and was only about 10 minutes into its flight after taking off from Vancouver International Airport. There was no distress call and the aircraft did not contain a black box.

A ground and aerial search, led by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, was initiated just after noon. The Royal Canadian Air Force deployed two helicopters, a CC-115 Buffalo and a CP-140 Aurora to assist with the search. North Shore Rescue is also assisting the search effort.

Due to inclement weather and challenging terrain, the search operation was suspended at nightfall for the safety of the rescue crews but it will resume tomorrow at first light.

Carson Air cargo flight 66, using a SA-266 Metro aircraft, disappeared about 10 minutes after take off from Vancouver pic.twitter.com/tjI9cocEPt

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) April 13, 2015