The wreckage of a small plane that was believed to be carrying nine Snohomish-based skydivers was found late Monday night in the Cascades.
The Tacoma Mountain Rescue team had been smelling fuel, which led them to the missing aircraft. The tail section was separated from the rest of the plane and has not been located.
The team was searching for survivors.
The members planned to participate in a skydiving event near Boise, Idaho, over the weekend, said Kandace Harvey, whose family owns Harvey Field in Snohomish. The skydiving company, Skydive Snohomish, operates at Harvey Field.
“The community is extremely distraught,” Kandace Harvey said. “Our concerns right now are for the folks on board and for their families.”
Some of those aboard the plane are employees of Skydive Snohomish, said Elaine Harvey, Kandace Harvey’s daughter-in-law, who runs Skydive Snohomish along with her husband.
The group was scheduled to fly from Star, Idaho, near Boise, to Shelton, Wash., on Sunday evening, according to Keri Farrington, a manager at Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton.
The Cessna 208 Grand Caravan left Star, Idaho, near Boise, around 7 p.m. Sunday but did not arrive in Shelton as scheduled, said Mike Fergus of the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane was past due at midnight, and authorities organized a search for it at 2 a.m., he said.
A search for the plane began Monday in the rugged mountains near Mount Rainier.
“We’re very anxiously awaiting further information,” Elaine Harvey said. She said she’s been in touch with search and rescue crews based in Yakima and with family members of those believed to be aboard.
“We’re hopeful and at the same time devastated by the news,” she said.
Kapowsin Air Sports, the plane’s owner, leased it to Skydive Boise for the weekend event, said Keri Farrington, a manager for the Shelton skydiving club.
The plane has a capacity of 10 passengers, Keri Farrington said.
The family owned company, more than 60 years old, has never lost a plane, he said. The plane also had never experienced mechanical problems.
“We’ve been around a long time,” an emotional Farrington said, describing the people on board as acquaintances. “(Skydiving) is a small community.”
The names of those on board were not released, but Farrington said their families have been notified.
Officials at Skydive Snohomish did not return a telephone message seeking comment. The office is normally closed Monday and Tuesday.
A hunter in the White Pass area told police he saw a plane flying low and heard a crash around 8 p.m. Sunday.
Nisha Marvel of the Washington Department of Transportation said the search area had been narrowed to southwest of Rimrock Lake, about 30 miles west of Yakima, due to the hunter’s report and radar information. The Transportation Department was coordinating the air search, while Yakima County Search and Rescue was coordinating a ground search.
Officials said the plane’s emergency locator was not activated.
The Cessna 208 Grand Caravan is considered a workhorse-type plane, Fergus said.
“It’s got a good track record. It’s been around a long time,” he said.
Another incident involving Snohomish County skydivers took place on Aug. 21, 1983.
A Lockheed L-18 Learstar, operated by Landry Aviation Inc., crashed in a farm field adjacent to Highway 530, one mile north of Silvana, after an uncontrolled descent from 12,500 feet.
The airplane had carried 24 sport parachute jumpers and two pilots. Fifteen parachutists successfully parachuted from the airplane during the descent. Nine parachutists and two pilots were killed. The plane had taken off from the Arlington Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was the failure of the operator and the pilot-in-command to assure proper load distribution during the jumper exit procedure.
Associated Press contributed to this story. Reporter Bill Sheets can be reached at 425-339-3439 or at sheets@heraldnet.com.
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