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'Not what I expected to find': Plane crashes in Cut Knife farmer's field

Cut Knife farmer Shane Maze never heard the plane crash in his wheat field. He was only alerted to the discovery hours later, when his uncle phoned him about the aircraft in the field located around 20 kilometres from his home.
downed Stinson Reliant
Shane Maze's sons, Lucas and Colby, posed in front of a downed Stinson Reliant on June 15, 2020 after it crashed it Maze's field near Cut Knife. Photo courtesy of Shane Maze

Cut Knife farmer Shane Maze never heard the plane crash in his wheat field.

He was only alerted to the discovery hours later, when his uncle phoned him about the aircraft in the field located around 20 kilometres from his home. Maze arrived on Sunday to find the upside-down wreckage — a surprising sight after eight years farming the land without incident.

“Not what I expected to find in my wheat this morning,” he tweeted on Sunday, along with an image of his two sons beside the plane.

The two people piloting the plane walked away unscathed after the crash, Maze later learned from his uncle, who spoke to them.

The plane appears to be a Stinson Reliant, a popular single-engine aircraft first manufactured in 1933.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada was aware of the situation and was collecting information, but won’t conduct a full investigation, according to spokesperson Chris Krepski.

Even without an investigation, Maze noted the interest the plane generated on social media and locally as it landed, drawing a neighbour’s attention.

The neighbour called Maze’s uncle on Sunday, asking about a low-flying plane dipping past the horizon near his nephew’s farm. Maze’s uncle went to investigate, discovered the plane and called his nephew. Maze later learned the two pilots walked away from the crash and called for a ride to their home in Unity, about 45 kilometres north of Cut Knife.

Before the pilots hauled the plane away on Sunday, Maze’s sons, Lucas and Colby, were happy to pose in front of the upside down Reliant.

“They’ve probably been close to planes before but never one that’s been upside down,” Maze said.