Family of pilot killed Monday speaks
Posted Oct 9, 2012 05:31:22 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
While the Transportation Safety Board investigated Monday’s fatal plane crash in Calabogie, west of Ottawa, the family of the pilot, 74-year-old Bob Reany of Port Elgin, dealt with their loss.
1310News spoke with Bob’s older brother, Bill Reany.
Growing up, Bill and Bob were very close and got into airplanes at a young age.
“He was a solid sort of a fellow,” Bill said. “He had a lot of experience in the type of airplane he was flying (Monday).”
Bill said he last saw his little brother on Sunday at their church choir, where Bob Reany was talking excitedly about his plans to lift off in the airplane of his student, a lawyer from Timmins.
“He was quite happy with what he was doing for the fellow. He was impressed the airplane, it had all the latest (technology) on it. It was equipped for navigation very much like you would equip a small airliner.”
Based on the “sketchy” information currently made available to the Reany family, Bill said it must have been a mechanical failure that lead to the plane dropping from the sky.
“(Bob) had radioed in after he left Ottawa en-route to Wiarton,” Bill told 1310BNews. “I think he was at 27, 000 feet and he indicated he had mechanical problems. In two minutes it was all over.”
“We’re going to miss him.”
