ADVERTISEMENT Milestones Milestones - Aug. 1 and 2, 2025 See which Maritimers are celebrating a birthday or anniversary on August 1 and 2, 2025.
See which Maritimers are celebrating a birthday or anniversary on August 1 and 2, 2025.
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CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Fatal Deer Lake plane crash leaves family mourning halfway across the world
A fatal plane crash in Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador has left a family grieving on the other side of the world. Shock rippled through the western Newfoundland town of 5,000 people in late July after hearing reports of a small plane crashing near the region's airport. The aircraft was a Piper Navajo twin-engine plane. The pilot, a 54-year-old man, and the lone passenger, a 27-year-old man, were both pronounced dead at the scene. This week, the family identified the passenger to CBC News as Gautham Santosh, from Kerala, India. He was living in Canada to become a pilot. "He just wanted to fly. Ever since he was a child, he wanted to be a pilot," Gautham's sister, Ganga Santosh, told CBC News. Now, she says, her family is in shock and reeling. "Everybody's devastated because of such a thing, no one would dream of it happening," Ganga Santosh said. Always wanted to be a pilot Gautham Santosh is described as a gentleman and his brother-in-law Sonu Prathap said he was a reliable person. "He was someone you can count on once you get to know him," Prathap said. "It sounds cliche, but he was truly like that." Ganga Santosh said her brother was determined to chase his dream and become a pilot. As a child, she says, he was obsessed with planes. "My grandma, she used to say, whichever notebook you open, you'll find images of these airplanes. And he had ideas about all of them, all types of models. He knew the name, he knew how the design was, everything," she said. When it came time to pursue post-secondary education, Ganga Santosh said her brother was convinced to study mechanical engineering. She said their mother considered it the safer career option but he dropped out after his second year in the program. "He was like, 'No, this is not my passion. My passion is flying, like I'm meant for that,' and so at last my mom gave in," Ganga Santosh said. Gautham Santosh moved to Canada in 2019. He studied and worked at the Pacific Professional Flight Centre in British Columbia. Ganga Santosh said he recently started working with the owner of the Piper Navajo twin-engine plane in order to gain more flying hours. "I think it's been three to four weeks now since he's been working there with Kisik," Ganga Santosh said. Last contact On July 26, his family knew he was getting on a plane in Deer Lake. Ganga Santosh said her brother called their mom beforehand. "He had called my mom and said, 'I'm going to the airport, it's my off-day, but there's some work that I need to do, and after that I'm taking a rest,'" she said. Their mother is shaken by the last conversation she had with Gautham Santosh. "The last word he said was that he's taking a rest, which is still hurting my mom so much. She didn't think that it would end in such a kind of rest," Ganga Santosh said. Gautham Santosh had big plans for his future. In the short term, he was going to visit home in September and surprise his mom for Onam, an annual harvest and cultural festival in India. "He's like, 'I'll surprise mommy. I won't tell him I'm coming,'" Ganga Santosh said. "He planned all that, but unfortunately, as you can see, he could not keep up those plans." Repatriation Now, his family is hoping to bring home what they can of his remains. "It was a twin-engine flight, and it was supposed to fly for eight to 10 hours or something. So that much fuel and the crash happened right after take off caused a really huge explosion," she said. "We still do not know how much is left." The crash is currently under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. Ganga Santosh said whatever is left of her brother is in the hands of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in St. John's. She hopes that in the coming weeks, his remains will be repatriated. "We need him back, because in India, I'm sure you know, we have some last rites and things to be done," Ganga Santosh said. Her brother died doing what he loved, she said. "He just loved it. He used to be like, 'I flew this many hours. I flew 12 hours. I flew straight. It was amazing,'" Ganga Santosh said.
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Once homeless Harvey woman turns personal struggles into support for low-income families
It's been six years since Jordan Cain was homeless and struggled with substance use. Today, the Harvey woman has turned her life around. She is the founder of the Victoria Project, which aims to support low-income families and individuals with donations and other services. Cain said she decided to start the project because of her love for community service, rooted in her own personal experiences growing up in a low-income family and ultimately becoming homeless. Cain started doing outreach from a young age, helping in her school's breakfast club in middle school and part of high school. Even while homeless, Cain said, she continued to help others, buying food when possible and sharing any extra supplies she had. "If it wasn't for people giving [to] us, I would have nothing," she said. "It would've been a totally different childhood, and totally different life for me and my family. "So if I can make one family not have to go through stuff like that, then I've done something and I can die happy." Under the Victoria Project, Cain runs four programs. When she launched in April, it started with Cinderella's Closet, a free formal-wear rental service that she runs from a shed at her home in Harvey, about 41 kilometres southwest of Fredericton. It lends clothes to women who can't afford to buy their own. "It doesn't matter if it's for your Grade 8 formal, or just the school dance and you want to wear something nice, and you don't [have] something in your closet," she said. "Come check it out, there's something you can borrow." Cain's project began with three dresses and has since expanded to about 85. The service now also includes shoes, as well as hair and makeup, offering a complete package. So far, she has helped five girls go to prom, a bride get her dream wedding dress, and a wedding party get bridesmaid dresses. The other three programs Cain runs are Families Helping Families, a Christmas sponsorship program; Vicki's Room, a fundraising shop that sells second-hand brand-name items to finance her projects, and the Fleiger Outreach Program, which provides baskets of essential items to homeless people. Cain has collected donations for 10 families to make their Christmas celebrations possible, and has collected baby essentials to help prepare three low-income families for their newborns. Cain said she has always loved to help people and is happy that she's now in a position to do so. "If it wasn't for [sponsors] I wouldn't have had a Christmas like, just about any year at all," she said. "If I can help another family get that feeling for their kids, then at least I've done something right." Cain works with her sister Janisha and her fiancé to collect donations, drop off baskets and collect materials to alter dresses, but said the Victoria Project would not have been possible without Victoria Fleiger, her best friend. WATCH | 'It makes me feel whole': Once homeless, this woman now wants everyone to have the prom dress they deserve 6 minutes ago It's been six years since Jordan Cain overcame homelessness and drug abuse. Today, from her Harvey Station house, she runs a non-profit that supports low-income people because she knows what it's like to be in their shoes. Cain said Fleiger had been there for her when she was struggling with addiction, and her friendship helped her leave that life behind. "When I went off, we ended up losing touch and not being friends for a little while because I didn't like what she had to say to me," Cain said. "But I got thinking about it and it was like, 'Maybe she is right.'" Cain said Fleiger never said anything mean. "She was just telling me, like, 'You are not going to be here if you don't stop. I know you are going through stuff right now, but you need to smarten up and get out of this before other people get hurt.'" Fleiger, however, was also struggling with her own addiction and died earlier this year. Cain decided to name the project in her honour. With the growth the project has experienced in the past three months, Cain said she would like to continue developing her current initiatives and make the Victoria Project her long-term career. "When I can make somebody else smile … or know that they don't have to worry, then it just makes me feel whole."
CBC
3 hours ago
- CBC
Once homeless, this woman now wants everyone to have the prom dress they deserve
It's been six years since Jordan Cain overcame homelessness and drug abuse. Today, from her Harvey Station house, she runs a non-profit that supports low-income people because she knows what it's like to be in their shoes.
