Investigators examine plane crash debris
YAKIMA – Federal investigators on Wednesday picked through the debris of an airplane crash that killed 10 people in central Washington’s rugged Cascades, hoping to determine what caused the plane to nose-dive into dense timber.
A pilot and nine skydivers died in the crash Sunday evening as they were returning from a weekend skydiving trip near Boise. Authorities have declined to speculate on what might have caused the plane to nose-dive into the trees just east of the Cascade crest.
Investigators with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board spent hours at the crash site Wednesday and were expected to return today, said Debra Eckrote, the NTSB’s Northwest regional director.
They will try to document as much as they can from the wreckage, including readings from any intact control panels, the position and condition of airplane parts and any flight control documentation.
The debris field has been estimated at 60 feet by 100 feet.
“It’s all going to depend on just how badly damaged the aircraft is,” she said.
Once the site investigation has been completed, recovery of the aircraft will begin. Officials will continue their review in a controlled environment indoors after they remove the airplane from the mountain, she said.
“Usually, in an aircraft this size and the terrain, you’re really limited in what you can do,” Eckrote said.
The airplane crashed into thick timber at 4,300 feet, about 45 miles west of Yakima near the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area.
A hunter in the crash area reported seeing the low-flying Cessna Caravan 208 on Sunday night.
The FAA had warned in recent years that pilots should avoid flying the Cessna Caravan 208 in many icy conditions after receiving reports that pilots had difficulty maintaining altitude and control of the aircraft during such conditions.
Mike Robertson, an FAA investigator at the scene, declined to speculate whether the weather might have played a role in the crash.
A cold front had just swept through the area near White Pass where the plane went down. The temperature at White Pass was 33 degrees at 5,800 feet, the National Weather Service said.
The skydivers were affiliated with Skydive Snohomish, a company that operates a training school and skydiving flights at Harvey Field in Snohomish County, about 20 miles north of Seattle.
Their bodies were transferred Wednesday from Yakima to Seattle, where King County officials will assist in the identification.
Friends and family of the victims identified them as Casey Craig, 30, of Bothell; Hollie Rasberry, 24, of Bellingham; Michelle Barker, 22, of Kirkland; Landon Atkin, 20, of Snohomish; Jeff Ross, 28, of Snohomish; Cecil Elsner, 20, of Lake Stevens; Andrew Smith, 20, of Lake Stevens; Bryan Jones, 34, of Redmond; Ralph Abdo, 27, of Issaquah; and the pilot, Phil Kibler, 46, of Snohomish and Troy, N.Y.