Wasaya Airways pilot found dead north of Pickle Lake

UPDATE:The pilot of a Wasaya Airways Cessna 208 aircraft that lost radio contact Friday morning has been found dead at a site north of Pickle Lake, Ont., the airline said.

Wasaya Airways said in a news release early Saturday that rescuers arrived at the site at about 10:50 p.m. the night before and found Capt. Nick Little unresponsive.

"He could not be resuscitated," the statement said.

Previous story:

A Wasaya Airways Cessna 208 aircraft was found this afternoon, after losing radio contact earlier this morning.

Wasaya Airways saidCanadian Forces Search and Rescue has locatedthe Wasaya Airways Cessna 208 aircraft.

Members of the Northwest Region Emergency Response Team are assisting with search and rescue operation, along with members ofRCAF8 Wing Search and Rescue Technicians (SAR Tech).

TheOPP said it iscontinuing to work with rescue parties as well as Wasayaand the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB).

The OPP saidrescue crews have yet to reach the wreckage due to inclement weather. A helicopter was sent from Sioux Lookout earlier this afternoon, but had to turn around due to heavy icing.

A ground search has now started, however freezing rain and poor weather is slowing down efforts. The airline said it hopes to reach the plane before nightfall.

Wasaya said there is still no word on the condition of the pilot. The cargo plane had one pilot on board, and no passengers.

The plane was spotted about 28 km north of Pickle Lake. It was enroute to Wapekeka First Nation.

The aircraft appearsto be in one piece, and there was no sign of smoke or fire, said Wasaya.

Just after 9:00 a.m. Wasaya received information indicating that theCaravan aircraft was overdue and no longer in radio contact, the company said in a release sent Friday afternoon.

The aircraft was travelling from Pickle Lake, Ont., to Wapekeka, Ont.,a fly-in community, over 600 kilometres north of Thunder Bay.