3 killed in small plane crash at Mount Si in Wash

Sheriff's deputies recovered the bodies Wednesday of three people killed in a single-engine plane crash in a popular hiking and climbing area east of Seattle.

A team on the ground carried out one body more than a mile through rugged terrain. The others were airlifted by a King County helicopter to a medical examiner's van at a landing zone near North Bend.

Early Wednesday morning the sheriff's helicopter followed an emergency locator signal to the site of the crash on the Little Si area of Mount Si.

Searchers using night vision goggles spotted the wreckage amid broken trees with aircraft debris hanging in the branches, Deputy Ken O'Neal said.

An emergency transmitter in the plane was either activated on impact or by someone on the plane, said Tom Peterson, aviation emergency services coordinator for the Washington Transportation Department.

Ground searchers reached the scene about 30 miles from Seattle at daylight and found the bodies of two men and a woman in the four-seat Cessna 172, Sgt. Cindi West said.

There was no immediate information on their identities or the itinerary of the flight.

The plane crashed about 2:30 a.m. on the southeast face of the mountain, West said. Residents reported hearing a plane sputtering and an explosion. Two deputies who were on a call in the area also heard the impact, she said.

Preliminary information indicated the plane was not in contact with air traffic control, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus.

The plane was registered to Christiansen Aviation in Wilmington, Del., Fergus said.

Eric Housman, an employee of Christiansen Aviation, told The Seattle Times that the company leases planes to flight schools all over the country and he had no information about those aboard.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating how the plane hit the 4,200-foot peak, which is visible from Interstate 90. Visibility was good during the air search, O'Neal said.

Nighttime flying under visual rules without contacting air traffic control is permitted and not unusual, said NTSB investigator Wayne Pollack in Los Angeles before he flew to Washington.

He planned to examine the wreckage Thursday, looking into the weather at the time, the pilot's background and the airplane's maintenance.

He'll decide whether the wreckage has to be reconstructed at another location for a closer inspection.

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   Wednesday, May 18, 2011

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   Thursday, May 19, 2011