Memorial set for Canadian filmmaker killed in plane crash
John Driftmier, 30, died in plane crash in Kenya during final flight
By Jamie Long, CBC News
Posted: Feb 28, 2013 8:24 AM PT
Last Updated: Feb 28, 2013 12:01 PM PT
John Driftmier, seen here with his wife Carolyn, was born in Calgary and went to school in Vancouver, but he had lived in Ottawa for the past few years. (Facebook)
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A memorial will be held Saturday in Calgary for Canadian TV director and cameraman John Driftmier, who died in a plane crash in Kenya.
Driftmier, 30, is known for shooting TV documentary shows in extreme conditions — from the frigid Arctic in winter to sweltering jungles in tropical hotspots.
His small plane crashed during a morning location shoot, his family was told Sunday.
Montreal production company Pixcom eventually released a statement about the crash, which also killed the pilot, later that day.
Born in Calgary, Ottawa-based Driftmier had been shooting footage for the Discovery Canada doc series Dangerous Flights, which follows ferry pilots responsible for delivering small, private planes to customers around the globe.
Driftmier had been slated to return on Monday after having completed a three-week shoot for the second season of Dangerous Flights.
Ottawa funeral planned later in March
His family confirmed the memorial will be held at 2 p.m. MT Saturday at St. Stephen's Anglican Church in Calgary.
John Driftmier was based in Ottawa but he filmed documentaries all over the world on many adventurous subjects. (Facebook)A funeral will also be held in Ottawa later in March, but it is not yet known if it will be open to the public.
Driftmier studied documentary filmmaking at Simon Fraser University before travelling to more than 30 countries for Dangerous Flights.
Driftmier had also shot other Discovery Channel shows such as Highway Thru Hell and Licence to Drill. He also filmed two seasons of History Television's Ice Pilots NWT.
His directing credits include shows like Monster Moves, All For Nothing and Heavy Haulers.
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