The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has released its first update on an investigation into a plane crash near Smithers that left three people dead.

Four BC Wildfire Service contractors were aboard the Cessna 182E when it went down about 100 kilometres northeast of the town in the Smithers Landing area on Saturday. One was taken to hospital.

The site of a fatal plane crash in northern B.C. on Saturday.

The TSB says the aircraft, which was operated by Lakes District Air Services, was about three hours into an aerial mapping flight when the pilot transmitted a mayday and communication was lost.

The agency says the aircraft was destroyed due to its collision with the terrain, and there was no post-impact fire.

Two of the three people killed in the crash have been identified: Lorne Borgal of Vancouver, CEO and founder of aerial mapping company Precision Vectors, and Amir Sedghi, a Precision Vectors analyst.

The third victim is believed to have been the plane’s pilot, while the identity of the injured person remains unknown.

The TSB and the B.C. Coroners Service are both investigating.

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