Four people were killed this morning when a single-engine airplane that reportedly took off from the Arlington Airport crashed about two miles short of the Scapposse, Ore. airport, authorities said.
The single-engine Beech Bonanza airplane crashed shortly before 7 a.m. today, after the pilot radioed a mayday call, said Jay Tappan, fire marshal for Columbia River Fire and Rescue.
The plane is registered to an Everett man who rented a hangar at the Arlington Airport, said airport manager Rob Putnam.
It was not immediately known if the owner was on board. Rescuers were still recovering victims from the plane this afternoon, and their names were not released, according to the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office.
The wreckage was found between Scappoose Bay and the Multnomah Channel, south of the city of St. Helens, Tappan said.
Prior to the crash, several people in the area called 911 to report that they’d “heard an airplane flying low overhead that sounded like it was in trouble, with its engine sputtering,” Tappan said.
According to FAA officials, the plane was flying to Fresno, Calif.
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