Police revealed Thursday that a pilot transporting a large amount of cocaine in a plane that crashed near Vernon was untrained to fly at night and flying an aircraft that was running out of fuel. Vernon resident James Edgar Darwin, 39, died when the four-seat Piper Warrior aircraft rented last Friday from YKA Flight Discovery Ltd. of Kamloops crashed near Bouleau Lake Road, southwest of Vernon.During a press conference Thursday police showed the 109 kilograms of cocaine that was stored in suitcases found in the downed plane.Sgt. Terry Jacklin of the Southeast District General Investigation Section said police have yet to determine where the drugs came from and where the plane was heading. He said the 
Osoyoos Integrated Border Enforcement Team is taking part in the investigation.“There is some reason to believe he may have arrived from the United States,” Jacklin said. “That’s still part of the investigation.”Darwin is believed to have family in Vernon but Jacklin said he did not know where Darwin worked or if he had a prior criminal history.Although the B.C. Coroners Service is still investigating, the cause of the crash is now believed to be that the pilot ran out of fuel, police said.Jacklin said he would not release the street value of the cocaine other than to say it was a “considerable” amount. “It’s not everyday you can get that amount of cocaine off the street,” he said. “Obviously we’re quite happy.”A drug industry insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a kilogram of cocaine goes for about $14,000 U.S. in San Diego and costs about $4,000 more in Canada. Canadian buyers are known to travel that far south because it’s close to Mexico, from where the drug is often smuggled, said Ivan, the insider.“Beyond question, that aircraft went into the U.S. and probably as far away as Southern California. Somehow he got in the U.S. and operated for a few days and came back without being seen,” said Ivan.“No one flies around with 109 kg internally in Canada. There’s no purpose for that.”A Calgary pilot was busted with 144 kg while refueling in northern California two weeks ago. Authorities believe Daniel Raymond LeClerc, 35, was heading to B.C. Officers searched his twin-engine Cessna 350 in the small town of Montague. Police had received a tip the drugs were en route from San Diego.Darwin’s rented aircraft could fly about 500 nautical miles on one tank of fuel. If he flew from California, he would have had to stop to refuel at least twice, said Ivan.“He seriously miscalculated if he ran out of fuel,” he said. “The aircraft is relatively intact, which means he had an engine failure and tried to land on tree tops at low speed.”Although police have yet to speak with the owners of Flight Discovery, they don’t suspect the company did anything illegal.Flight Discovery co-owner Tammy Pitkeathly said the man who rented the plane was planning to fly local trips for family and friends around Vernon. She said the man was not one of the school’s students and made a 1.5-hour check-flight with one of the school’s instructors before he was allowed to rent the plane.“He was a recreational pilot permit holder so he wasn’t endorsed to fly at night,” she said. The recreational pilot permit allows pilots to carry one passenger in a single-engine aircraft. Permit holders are also barred from flying in poor weather.Darwin was supposed to return the aircraft by 4 p.m. Sunday but called Saturday, asking for an extension to Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. He left a phone message Tuesday morning saying the cloud ceiling was too low and he’d try later in the afternoon.“He didn’t say where he was. We checked the weather. We didn’t see any low ceiling,” Pitkeathly said. “My suspicion is we didn’t have the full truth of why he was using the plane.”– with files from David Skelhon and Don Plant
Osoyoos Integrated Border Enforcement Team is taking part in the investigation.“There is some reason to believe he may have arrived from the United States,” Jacklin said. “That’s still part of the investigation.”Darwin is believed to have family in Vernon but Jacklin said he did not know where Darwin worked or if he had a prior criminal history.Although the B.C. Coroners Service is still investigating, the cause of the crash is now believed to be that the pilot ran out of fuel, police said.Jacklin said he would not release the street value of the cocaine other than to say it was a “considerable” amount. “It’s not everyday you can get that amount of cocaine off the street,” he said. “Obviously we’re quite happy.”A drug industry insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a kilogram of cocaine goes for about $14,000 U.S. in San Diego and costs about $4,000 more in Canada. Canadian buyers are known to travel that far south because it’s close to Mexico, from where the drug is often smuggled, said Ivan, the insider.“Beyond question, that aircraft went into the U.S. and probably as far away as Southern California. Somehow he got in the U.S. and operated for a few days and came back without being seen,” said Ivan.“No one flies around with 109 kg internally in Canada. There’s no purpose for that.”A Calgary pilot was busted with 144 kg while refueling in northern California two weeks ago. Authorities believe Daniel Raymond LeClerc, 35, was heading to B.C. Officers searched his twin-engine Cessna 350 in the small town of Montague. Police had received a tip the drugs were en route from San Diego.Darwin’s rented aircraft could fly about 500 nautical miles on one tank of fuel. If he flew from California, he would have had to stop to refuel at least twice, said Ivan.“He seriously miscalculated if he ran out of fuel,” he said. “The aircraft is relatively intact, which means he had an engine failure and tried to land on tree tops at low speed.”Although police have yet to speak with the owners of Flight Discovery, they don’t suspect the company did anything illegal.Flight Discovery co-owner Tammy Pitkeathly said the man who rented the plane was planning to fly local trips for family and friends around Vernon. She said the man was not one of the school’s students and made a 1.5-hour check-flight with one of the school’s instructors before he was allowed to rent the plane.“He was a recreational pilot permit holder so he wasn’t endorsed to fly at night,” she said. The recreational pilot permit allows pilots to carry one passenger in a single-engine aircraft. Permit holders are also barred from flying in poor weather.Darwin was supposed to return the aircraft by 4 p.m. Sunday but called Saturday, asking for an extension to Monday afternoon or Tuesday morning. He left a phone message Tuesday morning saying the cloud ceiling was too low and he’d try later in the afternoon.“He didn’t say where he was. We checked the weather. We didn’t see any low ceiling,” Pitkeathly said. “My suspicion is we didn’t have the full truth of why he was using the plane.”– with files from David Skelhon and Don Plant
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