KELOWNA, B.C. — Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice has been killed in plane crash in British Columbia.

Media reports are citing sources that say Prentice was on board the small plane that went down Thursday night after taking off from the Kelowna airport.

The plane was en route to the Springbank airport, outside Calgary.

The Transportation Safety Board says all four people on board died.

Prentice, also a former federal cabinet minister, quit politics last May after the Alberta NDP swept the Progressive Conservatives from power. </s> KELOWNA, B.C. — Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice has been reportedly killed in a plane crash.

Several media outlets are citing Conservative sources as confirmation.

The Transportation Safety Board says all four people aboard the small plane that crashed in southern British Columbia were killed.

Board spokesman Bill Yearwood said a Cessna Citation aircraft with four people on board went down at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday after taking off from Kelowna on a flight to Springbank, outside Calgary.

Born in the Timmins, Ont., suburb of South Porcupine in 1956, Prentice left federal politics to replace Alison Redford as the Conservative premier of Alberta until losing the last election.

As a Conservative MP for Calgary Centre-North, Prentice served in the Stephen Harper government as minister of Indian Affairs, minister of industry, and minister of environment.

He was 60 years old.

RCMP Cpl. Dan Moskaluk confirmed police were alerted when the private business-style jet lost radar contact Thursday night.

“Investigators located the crash site approximately four kilometres into a heavily wooded area east of Lake Country,” Moskaluk said in a news release.

The site of the crash was northeast of Winfield, about 18 kilometres north of Kelowna.

A team of investigators from the board was on its way to the scene of the crash near Kelowna.

- with files from The Canadian Press </s> Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was among the four people killed in a small-plane crash in British Columbia on Thursday night.

Prentice, 60, was aboard a twin-engine Cessna Citation that disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Kelowna, en route to the Springbank Airport, just outside Calgary.

Bill Yearwood with the Transportation Safety Board confirmed Friday that the plane's wreckage was found in Lake Country, B.C., just north of Kelowna, and described the crash as "unsurvivable."

"The aircraft is destroyed; all persons on board lost their lives," Yearwood said.

Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was among the four people killed in a small-plane crash in Kelowna 0:31

Also killed in the crash was Ken Gellatly, the father-in-law of Prentice's daughter Cassia.

The Prentice family issued a statement Friday, saying the loss of two family members at once is "unbelievably painful."

"Words cannot begin to express our profound shock and heartbreak," the statement reads.

The plane is owned by Calgary-based Norjet Inc. The company stated it will co-operate with the Transportation Safety Board's investigation.

"Norjet lost friends in the tragic crash near Kelowna and we are struggling to cope with that loss," according to the press release.

Prentice became Alberta premier in September 2014 when he won the leadership of Progressive Conservative Party.

In February 2015, Prentice discussed the challenges facing his province and the country at large in the wake of plunging oil prices in an extended interview with Peter Mansbridge.

Peter sits down with the Premier of Alberta, Jim Prentice to discuss the challenges facing his province and the country due to plunging oil prices. 22:26

In May 2015, the PCs were handed their first electoral defeat in nearly half a century, at the hands of the Alberta NDP, and Prentice resigned as both party leader and member of the legislature.

Before becoming premier, he served as vice-chair and senior executive vice-president with CIBC from 2010 to 2014.

Prentice also had a career in federal politics. He served as MP for Calgary Centre-North from 2004 to 2010, with stints as industry minister, environment minister and minister of Indian affairs and northern development in Stephen Harper's cabinet.

He really cared deeply about the people he served, and he was always devoted to their best interests. - Joe Oliver, former Conservative finance minister

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley was among those offering their condolences Friday.

"There are no words adequate for moments like this, as my family knows very well," said Notley, whose own father died in a plane crash on Oct. 19, 1984.

"[Prentice] worked tirelessly for all of us, in the true spirit of one who is committed to public service. I benefited from his advice, and the government of Alberta is continuing to pursue many of his initiatives. All Albertans are the better for this," she said in a statement.

Former Alberta premier Alison Redford described Prentice as an "icon" — a thoughtful man who looked to the long term and successfully brought people together to deal with difficult issues.

As a young lawyer, Redford articled for Prentice. Both shared an interest in politics.

Some moments of note from Jim Prentice's career in Alberta provincial politics. 1:47

"The work that we were doing at the time was around the development of the Oldman River Dam in southern Alberta," she said. "I had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with him in southern Alberta meeting ranchers and meeting First Nations leaders. That connection to land and environment was something that was always important to him, and something I think touched everything he did in his life."

Former Conservative finance minister Joe Oliver described Prentice as a passionate and skilled public servant who got into politics for all the right reasons.

"He really cared deeply about the people he served, and he was always devoted to their best interests," Oliver said.

"He was never pompous. He was always a straight shooter, someone whose integrity and good judgment you could always rely on."

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi expressed a similar sentiment.

"In politics, I get to work with people from all political stripes who are filled with a desire to do good no matter what. I also get to work with people who are thoughtful, respectful and driven by a need improve this community we all share," he said.

"Jim was all of these things, and so much more. He is an inspiration to all of us who aspire to public service."

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi and former Alberta premier Jim Prentice embrace during a memorial service for Alberta member of the legislature Manmeet Bhullar, who was killed in a car crash in November 2015. On Friday, Nenshi reacted to the death of Prentice by saying: 'He is an inspiration to all of us who aspire to public service.' (Mike Ridewood/Canadian Press)

Nenshi recalled Prentice's connection with Alberta member of the legislature Manmeet Bhullar, who was killed in a car crash in November 2015.

"When the Sikh community was struggling to set itself up in Calgary and trying to build the first gurdwara in this city, they faced a lot of opposition from a community that didn't know much about their faith," Nenshi said.

"They were represented by an idealistic young lawyer who fought for respect, acceptance and diversity. That lawyer was named Jim Prentice."

'Strong voice for the people,' PM says

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Prentice as a skilled politician and said he will "profoundly" miss him, despite their political differences in the past.

"Jim was a man who brought his deep convictions to everything he turned his hand to, whether it was law, business or politics," Trudeau said.

Trudeau on the death of Jim Prentice 1:30

"At each step of his career, Jim was a strong voice for the people of Alberta and for the people of Canada. He was highly respected and well-liked in the House of Commons across all party lines, because he brought an intelligent, honest and straightforward approach to everything he did."

Interim Conservative Leader Rona Ambrose praised Prentice for his devotion to the party and public service and said he had much to be proud of in his political career, although that was just one aspect of his life.

"He was most proud of being a good husband, a good father and a very proud new grandfather," she said.

Passion for politics

This June, Prentice became an energy adviser with Warburg Pincus, an international private equity firm, but politics was always a passion of his.

He started working for federal and provincial parties at age 20, mostly in backrooms, before stepping into the spotlight himself later in life.

Apart from one failed run for provincial office in 1986, he said he had an agreement with his wife, Karen, to wait until their three children were grown before venturing into the rigours of elected life.

But long before he would hold political office, Prentice was a boy who grew up "under the bins" of a coal mine.

Prentice, as a university student, worked seven summers underground in choking dust and heat amid deafening machinery.

Ontario roots

Prentice was born on July 20, 1956, in South Porcupine in northern Ontario.

Alberta's former minister of finance responds to news Prentice has died in plane crash 4:53

His dad, Eric Prentice, was a gold miner and former pro hockey player, a 17-year-old whiz-kid winger and the youngest player ever signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a career minor leaguer, but had a minor stint in the big leagues — playing five games with Toronto in 1943.

As the gold mine dwindled, Eric Prentice picked up his family in 1969 and moved to a new coal mine in Grande Cache, Alta., when Jim was 13, and eventually to the mines farther south in the Crowsnest Pass.

Jim Prentice became a top-flight winger in his own right, but his promising junior hockey career ended with a devastating knee-on-knee hit.

From then on, he focused on university, graduating with a law degree before working in Alberta as an entrepreneur and a lawyer dealing mainly with land and property rights.

Conservative reunification

After his failed 1986 bid for provincial office, Prentice wouldn't take a political run again until 2002, when he earned the PC nomination in Calgary Southwest, but later withdrew as a byelection candidate.

The federal conservative movement was in turmoil at the time, fractured between the PCs and the Canadian Alliance.

Prentice urged reunification and stepped aside so that Alliance leader Stephen Harper could run unopposed to represent the centre-right.

In 2004, at age 47, he won the Calgary riding for the newly merged Conservative Party.

In 2006, Harper won a minority government and Prentice was in cabinet. Over the following six-plus years, he was given high marks for his work in diverse portfolios — in the ministries of Indian and northern affairs, industry, and environment.

But the defining moment, he said, came before his cabinet days, when the Conservatives were still the Opposition in 2005.

Prentice decided to vote for a controversial Liberal bill endorsing same-sex marriage. </s> Former Alberta Premier Jim Prentice is among the four people who died in a plane crash in British Columbia.

The Globe and Mail has confirmed that Mr. Prentice was among the passengers of a Cessna Citation business jet that crashed north of Kelowna, B.C.

A team of investigators from the board was on its way to the scene of the crash near Kelowna.

Read more: Mirrors and miscalculations: Five Alberta election moments to remember

Transportation Safety Board spokesman Bill Yearwood told the Canadian Press that the aircraft with four people on board went down at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday after taking off from Kelowna on a flight to Springbank airport, outside Calgary.

RCMP Coporal Dan Moskaluk confirmed police were alerted when the private business-style jet lost radar contact.

“Investigators located the crash site approximately four kilometres into a heavily wooded area east of Lake Country,” Moskaluk said in a news release.

The site of the crash was northeast of Winfield, about 18 kilometres north of Kelowna.

Yearwood did not have information about the names or hometowns of those aboard the small jet, or what might have caused the crash.

“We are organizing a team to deploy to the accident site,” he said.

Cpl. Moskaluk said the RCMP will continue to secure the crash site, awaiting the arrival of the Transportation Safety Board.

With files from The Canadian Press </s> Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice among four people killed in plane crash near Kelowna

A plane carrying four people, including former Alberta premier Jim Prentice, crashed into a heavily wooded area near Kelowna on Thursday night (Oct. 13), killing everyone on board.

The Cessna Citation aircraft left Kelowna airport bound for the Calgary area, but crashed shortly after takeoff, approximately four kilometres north of Beaver Lake Road, east of Lake Country, stated RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Dan Moskaluk in a press release. The plane departed the airport at approximately 9:30 p.m.

“Our police officers and police dog reached the crash scene shortly after midnight, but unfortunately they were not able to locate any survivors,” said Moskaluk. “There was catastrophic damage at the crash site.”

Prentice, 60, was with a group of four flying out of Kelowna following a golf trip. RCMP have described the wreckage as catastrophic and unsurvivable.

Prentice was a former Alberta PC premier and former federal cabinet minister in the Conservative government of Stephen Harper. He left federal politics in 2010 and took a job as the senior executive vice-president of CIBC. He later ran for the Alberta PC leadership.

While Prentice’s political colleagues have confirmed his death through outpourings, the authorities are taking a cautious approach, leaving the identities of the other three passengers a mystery.

“Our priority is to first share information with the families of those individuals killed in this tragic crash,” said Moskaluk.

Following confirmation that next of kin have been notified, information about the identities of the remaining passengers may be released publicly.

A coroner from Kelowna attended the scene of the crash on the morning of Oct. 14, and identification specialists from the BC Coroners Service headquarters in Burnaby also made their way to the crash site.

BC Coroners Service personnel are working closely with investigators from the Transportation Safety Board and RCMP, and does not expect to release any further information until Monday at the earliest. </s> Among the dead from a Thursday night plane crash in a wooded area near Kelowna is former Alberta premier Jim Prentice.

Prentice, 60, was with a group of four flying out of Kelowna in a Cessna Citation en route to Alberta, following a golf trip. The plane went down shortly after takeoff and RCMP have described the wreckage as catastrophic and unsurvivable.

Prentice was a former Alberta PC premier and former federal cabinet minister in the Conservative government of Stephen Harper. ( Read more on Prentice’s background here) He left federal politics in 2010 and took a job as the senior executive vice-president of CIBC. He later ran for the Alberta PC leadership.

Social media sites were flooded with remembrances of Prentice, who was described as an honest politician and a good family man.

Among those struck by the news was former Kelowna Lake Country MP Ron Cannan, who worked closely with Prentice from 2006 to 2010. They also shared a lot of downtime having to commute back and forth to Ottawa together.

“He always had time for people and was very well respected from all political parties and staff and media,” said Cannan, adding that he related to Prentice as a family man above all else, and the two often discussed their daughters in those moments.

One instance of Prentice’s character that stood out to Cannan was when the then industry minister was visiting Kelowna for business, and they’d taken time out to play a game of golf.

One of Cannan’s constituents had an idea for a business he wanted to pitch, and Cannan invited him along.

“He rode around on the course with (Prentice) for awhile,” said Cannan, noting that the conversation eventually led to a local business being launched successfully. He said Prentice also formed a good relationship with the Westbank First Nation, when he was cabinet as minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

Premier Christy Clark offered some insight into Prentice’s character in the hours after the crash.

“This is a terrible loss for our country. It’s a rare privilege to meet people of Jim’s character in any walk of life. He was a man of his word, would keep confidences, and his handshake was worth more than any written agreement,” said Clark, in a statement.

“Simply by being himself, Jim Prentice elevated political discourse in this country with his dignity, kindness, and focus. Jim devoted his life to making Canada better – and he succeeded.”

While Prentice’s political colleagues have confirmed his death through outpourings, the authorities are taking a cautious approach, leaving the identities of the other three passengers a mystery.

“Our priority is to first share information with the families of those individuals killed in this tragic crash,” said Cpl. Dan Moskaluk.

Following confirmation that next of kin have been notified, information about the identities of the remaining passengers may be released publicly.

Moskaluk described the damage at the site as “catastrophic” and is working with the BC Coroner’s Service.

Transportation Safety Board members are also on site collecting data, examining and photographing the wreckage, and assessing all “relevant information” such as the weather conditions or anything else that may have caused the crash.

The private business-style jet, with four people on board went down at about 10:30 p.m. Thursday after taking off from Kelowna on a flight to Springbank, outside Calgary.

“Investigators located the crash site approximately four kilometres into a heavily wooded area east of Lake Country,” Moskaluk said in a news release.

The site of the crash was northeast of Winfield, about 18 kilometres north of Kelowna.

On Oct. 13, at 10:07 p.m., the Kelowna RCMP and Lake Country RCMP detachments were alerted by the Surrey Air Traffic Control Centre that they had lost contact with a Citation jet shortly after its takeoff from the Kelowna International Airport. The aircraft was destined for Calgary.

“Several resources were immediately dispatched to the jet’s last known location,” said Moskaluk. “RCMP investigators located the crash site approximately 4 km into a heavily wooded area north of Beaver Lake Road east of Lake Country.” </s> Former Alberta premier Jim Prentice was killed in a plane crash outside of Kelowna, B.C., late yesterday.

He was among four who died when the plane headed for Alberta crashed at Winfield in a heavily wooded area. The incident is still under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

Prentice was Progressive Conservative premier of Alberta in 2014-15 and resigned immediately after losing the election to NDP leader Rachel Notley, who achieved a majority win after 44 years of Conservative rule.

He was a federal cabinet minister in the Stephen Harper Conservative government from 2006-10, holding the portfolios of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Industry and Environment.

He resigned from federal politics and held a senior position with CIBC before winning the Alberta Progressive Conservative party leadership in 2014.

Born in 1956 in Ontario, he moved to Alberta when he was 13. He earned a bachelor of commerce degree from the University of Alberta and a law degree from Dalhousie University.

He specialized in property rights law and Aboriginal land claims before entering federal politics in 2002.

He is survived by his wife, Karen, and three daughters.

Tributes to Prentice included statements from Brad Wall, Saskatchewan premier, who said:

“I enjoyed working with Jim Prentice when he was a key federal cabinet minister and then as premier of our closest friend and neighbour, Alberta. Tami and I express our deepest condolences to Jim’s family and friends and to all Albertans. This is a deep loss for all of Canada.”

The following statement was issued by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley:

“There are no words adequate for moments like this as my family knows very well,” said the premier whose father NDP leader Grant Notley died in a plane crash in 1984.

“But there are words to remember Premier Prentice’s contributions to Alberta. He served our province in so many roles for so many years. He deeply loved Alberta. He worked tirelessly for all of us, in the true spirit of one who is committed to public service. I benefitted from his advice and the Government of Alberta is continuing to pursue many of his initiatives. All Albertans are the better for this.

“We will find an appropriate occasion to fully remember Premier Prentice’s career and contributions.

“But today our thoughts are with his family. With Karen and their daughters Christina, Cassia and Kate. And with two grandchildren who will have much to be proud of in their grandfather.”

British Columbia Premier Premier Christy Clark said: “Like many Canadians, I was shocked to hear the news about Jim Prentice. This is a terrible loss for our country. It’s a rare privilege to meet people of Jim’s character in any walk of life. He was a man of his word, would keep confidences and his handshake was worth more than any written agreement.

“Simply by being himself, Jim Prentice elevated political discourse in this country with his dignity, kindness and focus. Jim devoted his life to making Canada better — and he succeeded.

“Jim had a remarkable and distinguished career, but I think he took the most pride in being a husband, father, and grandfather. My thoughts are with Jim’s family.”

In addition to Prentice, family friend Ken Gellatly, a Calgary optometrist, was among those killed in the crash. </s> Eighteen months after former Alberta premier Jim Prentice and three other men died in a fiery B.C. plane crash, federal investigators can still only hypothesize the pilot become disoriented in the dark and lost control of the Cessna Citation 500 before the aircraft entered a steep, descending turn.

Without the hindsight of a flight recorder − not a requirement for this type of aircraft – no one may ever know for sure what happened at about 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 13, 2016, as the plane set off from Kelowna to Calgary.

The pilot, Jim Kruk, had decades of experience behind the controls. But in its investigation report released on Thursday, the Transportation Safety Board says Mr. Kruk had just two night takeoffs under his belt in the six months before the crash. Transportation Canada requires pilots carrying passengers in the dark to have at least five such night takeoffs and landings in six months. That lack of up-to-date nighttime experience meant the pilot was more likely to experience “spatial disorientation,” with loss-of-control sensations including vertigo that can see pilots push down or turn controls when they think they are levelling out, TSB chairwoman Kathy Fox said.

“That’s why it’s so insidious and so dangerous.”

What is clear, however, is the independent agency in charge of investigating transportation incidents in Canada believes there are cracks in the system designed to keep private business aircraft flights safe.

“That’s not just concerning to the TSB, but it should be concerning to everyone,” Ms. Fox said, speaking to reporters in Calgary.

Mr. Prentice was the popular federal Conservative cabinet minister who went on to serve a tumultuous eight months as Alberta’s premier before his long-ruling Progressive Conservative party was voted out of office in May, 2015. Mr. Prentice was in the midst of building a postpolitical life and was returning from an Okanagan golf trip with Mr. Kruk; Calgary optometrist Ken Gellatly – the father-in-law of one of Prentice’s three daughters; and Calgary businessman Sheldon Reid. According to the TSB, the Cessna that the four men were travelling in experienced rapid changes in its rate of climb, deviated from its intended track and crashed just minutes after it left the runway. No emergency call was made.

In its investigation report, the TSB said Transport Canada should create a mandatory condition that commercial operators and private operators install flight recording systems – even for those not required to carry the devices today. The systems have become lighter and less expensive in recent years, and would give investigators a fighting chance of figuring out what went wrong after a crash.

“It’s extremely frustrating when at the end of 18 months we’ve come up with a likely scenario of spatial disorientation, but it is just that – a likely scenario,” TSB investigator-in-charge Beverley Harvey said.

Transport Canada said on Thursday the majority of the travelling public, close to 85 per cent, fly in aircraft equipped with a cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder, or both. Only some smaller, private aircraft are not required to have the devices. Based on a past recommendation from the TSB, the federal department is consulting on the issue.

But more damning, the TSB said Transport Canada had not inspected Norjet Inc., the company that owned the plane, in the four years before the crash. It was therefore unaware that no approvals had been obtained for the single-pilot operation of the aircraft; Transport Canada was also not aware of non-compliance with maintenance inspection schedules for wing components, along with the pilot’s lack of nighttime flight experience.

The TSB said the current approach to oversight for the private business aviation sector isn’t robust enough – saying the focus on investigating only after an incident or crash heightens the risk of “another serious incident or accident involving a private operator.”

Transport Canada has told the TSB that as of this month, it will conduct “targeted” inspections of private business operations.

The TSB does the investigations into crashes but doesn’t assign blame, or criminal or civil responsibility. On Thursday, Transport Minister Marc Garneau said he takes the agency recommendations seriously.

“Departmental officials are conducting a thorough review of the report and will provide a formal response to the board within the required 90-day time frame,” Mr. Garneau said in a news release.

In a statement, Mr. Prentice’s family said while the TSB report “cannot restore what has been lost, it is our hope the learnings from this tragic event can be used to prevent similar accidents in the future.” </s> The Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed four people had died in a crash on Thursday evening but did not release names.

Canada's Transportation Safety Board said they were investigating the wreckage of a downed Citation jet that was traveling to Calgary, Alberta, which crashed shortly after its takeoff from Kelowna, British Columbia.

"Our police officers and police dog reached the crash scene shortly after midnight, but unfortunately they were not able to locate any survivors," RCMP spokesman Dan Moskaluk said in a statement. "There was catastrophic damage."

The British Columbia coroner's officer said it was unlikely to confirm the victims' identity on Friday.

Current Alberta Premier Rachel Notley canceled a planned appearance, although her office did not give the reason why.

There was no official statement from Prentice's Alberta Progressive Conservative Party or the Alberta government but tributes and condolences poured in from other political colleagues.

Tom Mulcair, leader of the federal NDP, and federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May both said he would be sorely missed.

Conservative member of Parliament Gerry Ritz, who served in the federal government with Prentice, remembered him as a politician who distinguished himself by his passion.

"The world's a sadder place," Ritz said. "He was one of the best aboriginal affairs ministers we've seen in this country. His never back up attitude and his passion set him apart."

After Prentice left federal politics in 2010, he joined Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, where he stayed until 2014.

"This news comes as a terrible shock to all of us," said Victor Dodig, president and CEO of CIBC. "Jim was a great friend, colleague and Canadian."

Prentice was leader of oil-rich Alberta for less than a year, until his Progressive Conservative party was defeated by the left-leaning NDP party in May 2015.

His tenure as premier coincided with a dramatic slump in crude prices due to global oversupply. The downturn hit Canada's biggest oil-producing province hard. Many Albertans blamed the incumbent Conservative government, which at that point had been in power for 44 years, for not building up a bigger financial cushion during the boom years.

Earlier this year U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus appointed Prentice as an advisor in its energy group. </s> The Transportation Safety Board can’t determine the cause of the 2016 plane crash that killed former Alberta premier Jim Prentice and three passengers because the Cessna Citation 500 did not have a flight recording system.

In its report into the Oct. 13, 2016 plane crash released Thursday, the TSB is recommending the mandatory installation of lightweight flight recording systems by all commercial and private business operators not currently required to carry them.

Investigators say the most likely crash scenario is that the pilot Jim Kruk, who was dealing with a high workload, experienced spatial disorientation and departed from controlled flight shortly after takeoff.

Kruk also did not have the recent night flying experience required by Transport Canada for carrying passengers at night.

The TSB said it’s concerned about a lack of oversight by Transport Canada over private business aviation, finding no record that the federal agency had inspected the operator.

“We don’t like having to say ‘We don’t know’ when asked what caused an accident,” TSB chair Kathy Fox said in a news release.

“We want to be able to provide definitive answers.”

Prentice served as a federal cabinet minister in Stephen Harper’s Conservative government and premier of Alberta from 2014 to 2015.

Besides Prentice and Kruk, Ken Gellatly and Sheldon Reid died in the 2016 crash.
A plane crash near Kelowna, BC, kills Canadian politician and former Premier of Alberta Jim Prentice along with three others.