Two pilots who died in a plane wreck outside of Whati after losing contact with Air Tindi Wednesday morning were killed on impact during a SA国际影视传媒渉ighSA国际影视传媒� velocity crash, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) confirms.

SA国际影视传媒淭he aircraft did go through quite a few trees - about 300 metres is the wreckage trail length,SA国际影视传媒� Jon Lee, the TSBSA国际影视传媒檚 western regional manager, said in an interview Friday.

SA国际影视传媒淚t broke up into many pieces,SA国际影视传媒� said Lee.

Air Tindi lost contact with the King Air 200 plane between  9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning - around 24 to 32 kilometres outside of Whati - after departing from Yellowknife.

Following a weather-hampered search effort that saw the Royal Canadian Air Force deploy a Hercules aircraft, confirmed the deaths of the two pilots on board in a news release issued late Thursday afternoon.

An Air Tindi official declined to comment when SA国际影视传媒 approached him with the names of the deceased Friday, but other outlets have since identified the two pilots as Will Hayworth and Zach McKillop.

The airplane, according to Lee, was travelling at a SA国际影视传媒渉ighSA国际影视传媒� velocity when it crashed. The TSB categorizes the SA国际影视传媒渆nergy stateSA国际影视传媒� of an aircraft on impact as either SA国际影视传媒渉igh,SA国际影视传媒� SA国际影视传媒渕edium,SA国际影视传媒� and SA国际影视传媒渓ow.SA国际影视传媒�

SA国际影视传媒淚n a low energy impact, the airplane more or less still looks like an airplane, and may be survivable,SA国际影视传媒� said Lee. SA国际影视传媒淥nce you get up into moderate and high, thatSA国际影视传媒檚 when you get a potentially long wreckage trial, or the aircraft breaking up into many pieces - those arenSA国际影视传媒檛 survivable,SA国际影视传媒� added Lee.

TSB investigators made their way to the crash site on Thursday, but aspects of the probe are proving challenging given recent heavy snowfalls.

SA国际影视传媒淯nfortunately it was snowing at the time and afterwards, so when our investigators got there a lot of the telltale signs or ground scars we use to help us understand better how the aircraft contacted the ground, those were already getting covered up,SA国际影视传媒� said Lee.

Some aircraft parts, he said, are buried in the snow, meaning investigators will most likely have to return to the crash site in the spring once the snow has melted.

A priority for investigators, who returned to examine the site on Friday, ha

s been locating a cockpit voice recorder that could hold clues to what caused the deadly crash.

The voice recorder, according to Lee, could have picked up multiple channels of sounds, including ambient cockpit noise, along with engine and propeller sounds.

Another channel could have picked up conversations between the two pilots, as well as their communication with air traffic control. The TSB is currently in the process of analyzing data, sent from NAV Canada, to learn more about the King Air 200's flight path leading up to the crash.

Lee said it will be some time until the probe is complete.

SA国际影视传媒淲e have to make sure we take our time and get, as best we can, the best answer,SA国际影视传媒� said Lee, adding itSA国际影视传媒檚 far too early to speculate as to what caused the crash.

NWT CoronerSA国际影视传媒檚 Service is continuing to investigate the two fatalities along with the TSB and the , confirmed chief coroner Cathy Menard on Friday.

A postmortem autopsy is being ordered, said Menard.

Tributes and condolences for the two pilots - and the Air Tindi family - continued to pour in across social media following yesterdaySA国际影视传媒檚 tragic end to the search and rescue mission.

In a show of solidarity, dozens of Yellowknife residents have replaced their Facebook profile picture with a photo of the Air Tindi logo.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 a very moving thing to see,SA国际影视传媒� said Air Tindi president Al Martin Friday.

Martin said the company of 200 is still reeling from the loss of life.

SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 very raw still. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 a lot. WeSA国际影视传媒檙e supporting all our people. One of our strengths is that it is such a tight-knit company, but itSA国际影视传媒檚 also - not a weakness - but it means it hurts so much more.SA国际影视传媒�

Wreckage recovered from the crash site will be transported to Edmonton following the initial probe for a SA国际影视传媒渄etailed examination of the aircraft.SA国际影视传媒�