Plane With 10 Skydivers Missing in Wash. Update: Plane located - 7 bodies found.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Plane With 10 Skydivers Missing in Wash. Update: Plane located - 7 bodies found.

Posted: 10/8/2007 9:19:10 PM EDT

Plane With 10 Skydivers Missing in Wash.
By SHANNON DININNY
Associated Press Writer

YAKIMA, Wash. - The search for a plane carrying 10 people from a skydiving company was focused Monday in the rugged central Washington Cascades where a hunter reported hearing a crash.
The plane was en route to Shelton, Wash., on Sunday night, but never arrived, said Mike Fergus of the Federal Aviation Administration.

A hunter told police he saw a plane flying low and heard a crash about 8 p.m., about an hour after the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan had left Star, Idaho.

The single-engine plane is registered to Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton. Ten people from Skydive Snohomish were scheduled to be on the plane, said Geoff Farrington, Kapowsin's co-owner.

The names of those on board were not released, but Farrington said their families had been notified.

Elaine Harvey who runs Skydive Snohomish said her company, based at Harvey Field, about 20 miles north of Seattle, had not organized the trip to Idaho.

"These people were beloved friends," Harvey told the Yakima Herald-Republic. "It is a very close knit community here ... and until we find out more information about what happened we're just trying to hang in there for their families."

Harvey did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press seeking additional comment.

The search area had been narrowed to southwest of Rimrock Lake, about 45 miles west of Yakima, based on the hunter's report and radar information, said Nisha Marvel of the state Department of Transportation.

Two helicopters and six airplanes suspended their search late Monday and planned to continue Tuesday. Twenty-five ground searchers headed out Monday evening to hike as far as possible and be in place for a renewed search at daybreak, said Tina Wilson with Yakima Valley Emergency Management.

Wayne Frudd of Yakima County rescue said the terrain was steep, rocky, and heavily forested - "dense, which makes the level of detection difficult." But he said the available information gave searchers a good idea of where to look.

Officials said the plane's emergency locator was not activated.

Temperatures were between 35-40 degrees at 8 p.m., with some light precipitation and heavy clouds, said meteorologist Steve Bodnar of the National Weather Service in Spokane. Wind gauges to the east at Sedge Ridge showed winds of between 11-20 mph, with gusts to 46 mph.

The family-owned Kapowsin, more than 60 years old, has never lost a plane, Farrington said. The plane, which was built in 1994, according to the FAA, also had never experienced mechanical problems.

The Cessna 208 Grand Caravan has a good reputation, Fergus said.

"It's got a good track record. It's been around a long time," he said.

Posted: 10/8/2007 9:21:53 PM EDT

[#1]

Breaking News brief on Komo4 just said the plane was located, but didn't comment on the passengers.

Link

Hopefully they all jumped...

Posted: 10/8/2007 9:31:19 PM EDT

[#2]

JUMP

Posted: 10/8/2007 9:31:25 PM EDT

[#3]

I have hunted out in that area, can be pretty bad unless they survived the crash, and were able to hunker down real good.

Good luck to anyone that made it...
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:00:57 PM EDT

[#4]

Fox News is reporting that at least one body has been recovered and that crews were "arranging for removal of the occupants of the plane."

Not good.

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:02:02 PM EDT

[#5]

Hmmm this was in the LCR. Plane found

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:03:44 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
I have hunted out in that area,

You have hunted up near the pass?

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:27:51 PM EDT

[#7]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I have hunted out in that area,

You have hunted up near the pass?

Yup, bow hunted up there with a buddy of mine ( Steve Lowe) about 5 or so years back...I will dig up my maps, I know I have it marked where we were.

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:34:37 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

Aviate
Navigate
Communicate

In that order.

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:41:01 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

Aviate
Navigate
Communicate

In that order.

Agree 100%, but also...

Loss of altitude = loss of communications.

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:43:13 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Aviate
Navigate
Communicate
Don't take out runway lights

In that order.

fixt

Posted: 10/8/2007 10:52:59 PM EDT

[#11]

Getting past the loss of life thing, let us just free associate for a little bit...

Isn't the whole concept of a parachute something to help you get the FUCK out of a plane that is going to crash?

This has been boggling my mind all evening.

Posted: 10/8/2007 11:00:18 PM EDT

[#12]

No survivors.

Quoted:
Isn't the whole concept of a parachute something to help you get the FUCK out of a plane that is going to crash?

Yes, the irony is not lost here but it may have happened too fast, especially since no distress call went out.

Posted: 10/8/2007 11:02:27 PM EDT

[#13]

Quoted:
No survivors.

Quoted:
Isn't the whole concept of a parachute something to help you get the FUCK out of a plane that is going to crash?

Yes, the irony is not lost here but it may have happened too fast, especially since no distress call went out.

Not to mention that I doubt they were wearing their rigs...

Posted: 10/9/2007 12:33:41 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Aviate
Navigate
Communicate
Don't take out runway lights

In that order.

fixt

Meh. . . that's what insurance is for.

Posted: 10/9/2007 6:19:46 AM EDT

[#15]

7 Bodies Found After Wash. Plane Crash

By SHANNON DININNY
Associated Press Writer

YAKIMA, Wash. - Crews searching the rugged Cascade Mountains found seven bodies amid the wreckage of a plane, and said Tuesday that three others aboard likely did not survive.
Recovery efforts were suspended for the night but were to resume Tuesday morning.

Searchers who followed the scent of fuel to the crash site Monday night were able to verify by serial number that it was the plane carrying nine skydivers and a pilot that went missing a day earlier, said Tina Wilson, a Yakima Valley Emergency Management spokeswoman.

The Cessna 208 Grand Caravan left Star, Idaho, near Boise, Sunday evening en route to Shelton, Wash., northwest of Olympia. The plane was returning from a skydiving meet in Idaho when it crashed.

The names of those aboard were not released. Jim Hall, director of Yakima Valley Emergency Management, said none appeared to have survived, and that their families were notified.

One man at a Red Cross center at White Pass said his 30-year-old son was aboard the plane. He displayed a family photo of the young man skydiving with a brother and sister.

"He worked hard and he played hard - we just want to find him," said the father, who did not give his name.

Members of the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Team following the smell of fuel found the wreckage in the rugged mountains, Wilson said. The tail section was separated from the rest of the plane and was not immediately located, she said.

The National Transportation Safety Board was to begin an investigation Tuesday.

Based on radar transmissions and a hunter's report of seeing a plane flying low Sunday evening and then hearing a crash, the search was focused on a steep, densely forested area near White Pass, about 45 miles west of Yakima.

The search was centered in a relatively small area of 5 to 10 square miles along the north fork of the Tieton River.

Elaine Harvey, co-owner of the skydiving company Skydive Snohomish, told The Seattle Times that nine of the 10 aboard were either employees of her business or else licensed skydivers who considered Snohomish their "home drop zone."

Skydive Snohomish operates a training school and offers skydiving flights at Harvey Field in Snohomish County, about 20 miles north of Seattle.

The company had nothing to do with the flight to Idaho or the event held there, Harvey said.

"These people were beloved friends," she told the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Harvey did not return telephone messages from The Associated Press seeking additional comment.

The plane was registered to Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton, located near Olympia.

Geoff Farrington, Kapowsin's co-owner, said the family-owned company had never before lost a plane. He also said the plane had never experienced mechanical problems.

The single-engine plane was built in 1994, according to FAA records.

Posted: 10/9/2007 7:45:28 AM EDT

[#16]

I i remember right there is an airfield up there, I wonder if they were going to try to land?

Posted: 10/9/2007 8:12:10 AM EDT

[#17]

Jesus, that area eats a lot of aircraft. There was a Cessna type that went missing right there in the spring that I don't think they ever found.

Posted: 10/9/2007 8:18:24 AM EDT

[#18]

There are not many more places worse to crash a plane imo.

Posted: 10/9/2007 8:32:06 AM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Jesus, that area eats a lot of aircraft. There was an a Cessna type that went missing right there in the spring that I don't think they ever found.

The Cessna Cardinal was found last month. Both pilot & dog did not survive.
Link

Posted: 10/9/2007 8:56:56 AM EDT

[#20]

I wonder if they started jumping?

Posted: 10/9/2007 10:36:56 AM EDT

[#21]

Quoted:
Jesus, that area eats a lot of aircraft.

Mountain flying ain't no joke. Not only is there the obvious potential of running into a mountain (The FAA likes to refer to that as, "Controlled flight into terrain"), but mountains wreak havoc with the weather. Wind currents get shifted around, clouds form in weird places, etc. Also, mountain flying means having to fly higher than normal. That's where ice comes into play. When your wings build up ice, they cease being wings. When your wings cease being wings, your airplane ceases being an airplane--it becomes a car that happens to be at 12,000 feet. Cars don't fare well at 12,000 feet.

This is all pure fundamentals, and not specific to the accident(s) that are in the news right now. We'll wait for the NTSB / FAA for the specifics.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

On another note, Crest and Harvey Field are on the same CTAF / UNICOM frequency (123.0 MHz). When flying about, I hear those guys jumping up at Harvey all the time.

Posted: 10/9/2007 4:03:56 PM EDT

[#22]

Quoted:
Jesus, that area eats a lot of aircraft. There was an a Cessna type that went missing right there in the spring that I don't think they ever found.

Before I joined the Army we used to do alot of SAR in that area.

Posted: 10/9/2007 4:40:49 PM EDT

[#23]

Quoted:
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

I had read yesterday that just before losing radar, the plain did a rapid 360 then lost altitude.

I really wish the names would be released to AP or someone would PM me them. I've done my skydives outta Harvey Field and very possibly know one of the deceased. But I also don't want to bother the families at a time like this..

Posted: 10/9/2007 5:19:16 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:

I really wish the names would be released to AP or someone would PM me them.

From NWCN:
--Ralphie Abdo
--Landon Atkin, 20, Snohomish, Wash.
-- Michelle Barker, 22, Kirkland, Wash.
-- Casey Craig, 30, Bothell, Wash.
-- Cecil Elsner, 20, Lake Stevens, Wash.
-- Bryan Jones, 35
-- Phil Kibler, 46, Seattle
-- Holly Raspberry, 24, Bellingham, Wash.
-- Jeff Ross, 28, Snohomish, Wash.
-- Andy Smith, 20, Lake Stevens, Wash.

Posted: 10/9/2007 11:10:45 PM EDT

[#25]

one of my co-workers knows a bunch of the deceased, she is recovering from breaking her back on a previous jump.

Posted: 10/10/2007 8:17:29 AM EDT

[#26]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

Aviate
Navigate
Communicate

In that order.

And DO NOT fly into KNOWN icing!!! I suspect they iced up and, consequently, lost comm (the VHF ant won't function when its iced up). I'll be surprised if the cause is found to be other than icing.

See my previous tirade on mountain flying.

Its probable there were no PIREPs regarding icing along their route. But reports coming out today certainly suggest icing as the cause...sounds like the airplane stalled (pitot ice, airframe icing, probably both). Still, there are other causes for unusual attitudes.

Posted: 10/10/2007 10:23:48 AM EDT

[#27]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

Aviate
Navigate
Communicate

In that order.

And DO NOT fly into KNOWN icing!!! I suspect they iced up and, consequently, lost comm (the VHF ant won't function when its iced up). I'll be surprised if the cause is found to be other than icing.

See my previous tirade on mountain flying.

Its probable there were no PIREPs regarding icing along their route. But reports coming out today certainly suggest icing as the cause...sounds like the airplane stalled (pitot ice, airframe icing, probably both). Still, there are other causes for unusual attitudes.

The steep 360-degree turn sounds like an iced wing.
Also on last night's news, the sheriff mentioned that it appeared that impact was "high speed. . . around 70 MPH". Sounds kinda slow to me. That would support the stall theory.

Posted: 10/10/2007 12:00:34 PM EDT

[#28]

Quoted:

Quoted:
Wonder why the ELT did not activate, or the pilot was not able to at least get a radio transmission out.

Aviate
Navigate
Communicate

In that order.

And DO NOT fly into KNOWN icing!!! I suspect they iced up and, consequently, lost comm (the VHF ant won't function when its iced up). I'll be surprised if the cause is found to be other than icing.

See my previous tirade on mountain flying.

Its probable there were no PIREPs regarding icing along their route. But reports coming out today certainly suggest icing as the cause...sounds like the airplane stalled (pitot ice, airframe icing, probably both). Still, there are other causes for unusual attitudes.

The steep 360-degree turn sounds like an iced wing.
Also on last night's news, the sheriff mentioned that it appeared that impact was "high speed. . . around 70 MPH". Sounds kinda slow to me. That would support the stall theory.

Agreed.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Plane With 10 Skydivers Missing in Wash. Update: Plane located - 7 bodies found.

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