Police tape surrounds a downed plane following a fatal crash early on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 27. (Submitted photo)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

fatal crash

‘Then there was nothing, just silence:’ at least one killed in early morning plane crash southwest of Nanaimo

Nov 27, 2025 | 11:23 AM

NANAIMO — An investigation is underway after a fatal plane crash southwest of the city.

At approximately 3 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 27, a small plane crashed in the backyard of a property on Twilight Way, off Nanaimo River Rd., approximately eight kilometres west-northwest of Nanaimo Airport.

RCMP are in the early stages of their investigation and are unsure how many people were on board, noting however “there were no survivors.”

Dianne Wylie, a former flight attendant based out of Nanaimo, lives a few doors down from the property and told NanaimoNewsNOW on scene she woke up to the sound of the plane’s engine.

A fatal plane crash occured early on the morning of Thursday, Nov. 27. (Google Maps)

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“It was early in the morning, and I heard an old airplane sound…then it got louder and louder. I thought, ‘if that’s an airplane, he’s got to pick it up, because he’s gonna (crash)’ and then it went really loud, and then there was nothing, just silence.”

She said it’s not uncommon for motorists to use the area for aggressive burnouts, periodically causing localized noise.

Typically, those noises fade in and out as cars come and go from the neighbourhood, which was unlike this incident, Wylie recounted.

“You heard it, and it kept coming down and down and down, and then it got really loud and I just thought, is it going to hit us? Then there was nothing.”

The Transportation Safety Board said in a statement to NanaimoNewsNOW they’re aware of the situation and were “working with all parties involved to gather information.”

Wreckage of a fatal plane crash on a residential lot off Nanaimo River Rd. (Submitted photo)

The plane went down on the property of a home, just meters away from a boat. (Submitted photo)

Police block Twilight Way, off Nanaimo River Rd. on Thursday morning. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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