Ice may not have caused skydiver plane crash

A plane crash in October 2007 that killed nine Snohomish-based skydivers and the pilot likely was not caused by ice on the wings, according to a federal report released this week.

Several of those who died in the accident in the Cascade Range near White Pass were from Snohomish County and regularly jumped at Harvey Field in Snohomish..

National Transportation Safety Board investigators compared simulator data to conditions present at the time of the crash.

They concluded that if ice had been present, the aircraft likely would have stalled out much earlier than when it crashed. Radar data showed that the plane maintained a mostly steady altitude until only about two minutes before the crash, when it plummeted more than 10,000 feet into the side of a mountain.

Icing conditions were present at the time, according to weather reports, leading to speculation that ice on the wings had contributed to the crash.

The cause of the crash still has not been determined. A final report is not expected for several more months, according to a spokesman for the safety board.

The pilot and skydivers were returning from a weekend skydiving event in Idaho, on the way to Shelton, when the crash occurred. Their deaths have resulted in lawsuits.