Terry Johnson's body was found with the wreckage of his plane about 130 kilometres outside Norman Wells, N.W.T. (Family photo)

The RCMP and the Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash of a small plane that killed American businessman Terry Johnson in the Northwest Territories.

Johnson, 75, went missing on July 24, prompting a massive search. His body was found in the wreckage of his single-engine Beechcraft A36 Bonanza on Thursday.

"Sadly, the pilot has been found deceased," Capt. Jeff Noel, a Canadian Forces spokesman, said in announcing the discovery.

Johnson, founder of the MiniScribe disc-drive company, had been on a 12-day canoe trip with a son and grandson on the Keele River.

Travelling alone, his plane took off from Norman Wells, N.W.T., early on Saturday morning. He was supposed to stop to refuel in Peace River, Alta., on his way to his home in the Denver area.

Johnson last made contact with air traffic personnel about 50 kilometres outside Norman Wells.

He was on a strict flight plan but failed to make a position report over Fort Simpson, N.W.T., and wasn't heard from as his plane reached the point where it would run out of fuel.

Search 'a co-operative effort'

A massive search, employing as many as 12 aircraft at a time, was launched.

A Canadian coast guard helicopter spotted the downed plane about 130 kilometres from Norman Wells on Thursday morning.

Noel said the search, spearheaded by Canadian Forces search and rescue crews, was a co-operative effort.

"Air crews from across Canada — the Canadian Coast Guard, as well as the civil air search and rescue association of volunteers that participated — flew hundreds of hours and covered thousands of square miles, and this is just an indication of the great co-operation that we have here for search and rescue in Canada, irregardless of if the individual is a Canadian, American or whatever nationality."

Johnson built MiniScribe from a basement startup in the 1980s into a $100-million company.

With files from The Canadian Press