3 dead in small plane crash

OSO — There were no survivors of a small plane crash in a heavily wooded, rugged area just north of the Snohomish County line Sunday night.

The rented Cessna 172 was enroute from Roche Harbor on the San Juan Islands to Auburn when it went down in a remote area near Bald Mountain, north of Oso and Arlington, said Skagit County sheriff’s chief Will Reichardt.

The victims were the pilot, Brenda L. Houston, 47, and her daughter, Elizabeth M. Crews, 10, both of Enumclaw; and Dr. Virgil Becker, 54, an Auburn physician, Reichardt said.

Houston was a pilot for United Airlines, her husband confirmed.

“I lost my baby,” said Tom Crews, Houston’s husband and the little girl’s father. “But she’s with her mother. She loved flying with her mother, and the two of them are flying together. They’re happy. We lost half our family.”

Crews said he and Houston met when both were pilots for Pan Am Airlines. She continued to fly with United Airlines, he said.

Becker was a board-certified orthopedic surgeon at Cascade Spine Center.

Teams from the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. It’s not known if weather was a factor, Reichardt said.

Crews next week plan to hoist the wreckage out of the area and bring it to a hangar for further investigation, said Eliott Simpson, the NTSB investigator in charge.

He said it will take up to nine months to determine what caused the crash.

The plane apparently went down around 8 p.m. Sunday, said Mike Fergus, an FAA spokesman.

Around 9:30 p.m., a Whidbey Island Naval Air Station Knighthawk helicopter was dispatched to the area to help, Navy spokeswoman Kim Martin said.

“We came in and were able to get in and get close enough to actually pinpoint the location of the crash,” she said.

A search-and-rescue airplane with the state Department of Transportation and a Snohomish County sheriff’s helicopter already were in the area looking for the plane. The Navy crew used night vision goggles to locate the precise area of the crash. A team was lowered to the crash and confirmed there were no survivors, Martin said.

It was too dark and the area too rugged to recover the victims Sunday, Reichardt said.

On Monday morning, a ground crew trained in aircraft recovery efforts was hiking to the scene. Search vehicles only could get within a mile of the crash location.

Sunday’s crash is the sixth fatal airplane crash in Washington this year, according to NTSB records. The crash brings the death toll from airplane mishaps this year to 11 statewide.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Southbound lanes on Highway 99 reopen after crash

The crash, on Highway 99 at 176th Street SW, blocked traffic for over an hour. Traffic was diverted to 168th Street SW.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.