Spokane man found dead in Kootenai County plane wreckage

A Spokane man was found dead in the wreckage of an airplane crash discovered Saturday in a thickly forested area east of Coeur d’Alene, officials said.

A Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office deputy confirmed that the man was the pilot and lone occupant of the plane, the sheriff’s office said Sunday. The man’s identity and information about the plane were withheld pending notification to the family.

A person driving through the Horsehaven area, about 40 miles east of Coeur d’Alene, saw the wreckage off Forest Service Road 794. The downed plane was about 25 yards up a steep embankment.

A backcountry deputy and volunteer county search and rescue personnel patrolling the area were within a mile of the crash site and arrived just after 3 p.m.

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration were advised of the crash, and a detective from the sheriff’s office responded to assist with the investigation.

The crash was secured overnight and detectives resumed the investigation Sunday morning.