Crews find wreck of plane carrying 10

YAKIMA – Ground searchers following the smell of fuel Monday night found the wreckage of a plane carrying nine skydivers and a pilot that crashed in the rugged central Washington Cascades.

One body was reported recovered, said Mike Fergus, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman. By late Monday night, no survivors had been found, he said.

In a statement, Tina Wilson of Yakima Valley Emergency Management said crews were searching for survivors but also “arranging for removal of the occupants of the plane.”

In a telephone interview, she said she could not confirm whether there were any survivors.

The aircraft was found about 7:40 p.m. PDT and searchers were able to verify by serial number that it was the missing aircraft, Wilson said.

The missing Cessna 208 Grand Caravan left Star, Idaho, near Boise, Sunday evening en route to Shelton, Wash., northwest of Olympia, but did not arrive.

The plane was returning from a skydiving meet in Idaho when it disappeared.

Members of the Tacoma Mountain Rescue Team, searching in the area where the plane was believed to have gone down, followed the smell of fuel and found the wreckage.

The tail section was separated from the rest of the plane and has not been located, Wilson said.

Family and friends of those aboard were notified, Wilson said. The names of those aboard have not been released.

Based on radar transmissions and a hunter’s report of seeing a plane flying low Sunday evening and then hearing a crash, the search was focused on a steep, densely forested area near White Pass, about 45 miles west of Yakima.

The search was centered in a relatively small area of 5 to 10 square miles along the north fork of the Tieton River.

One man at a Red Cross center at White Pass said his 30-year-old son was aboard the plane. He displayed a family photo of the young man skydiving with a brother and sister.

“He worked hard and he played hard – we just want to find him,” said the father, who did not give his name.

Elaine Harvey, co-owner of the skydiving company Skydive Snohomish, told the Seattle Times that nine of the 10 aboard were either employees of her business or licensed skydivers who considered Snohomish their “home drop zone.” Skydive Snohomish operates a training school and offers skydiving flights at Harvey Field in Snohomish County, about 20 miles north of Seattle.

The company had nothing to do with the flight to Idaho or the event held there, Harvey said.

“These people were beloved friends,” she told the Yakima Herald-Republic.

Harvey did not immediately return telephone messages seeking additional comment.

The plane was registered to Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton, south of Seattle near Olympia.

The family-owned company has never lost a plane, said Geoff Farrington, Kapowsin’s co-owner. The plane also had never experienced mechanical problems, he added.

The single-engine plane was built in 1994, according to FAA records.