Flying instructor dies in plane crash

HELENA – A mountain flying instructor died in an airplane crash about 2.5 miles southeast of the Canyon Ferry airstrip near Townsend, Mont., Department of Transportation officials said Thursday.

A search team from Malmstrom Air Force Base found the wreckage of the Cessna 180 that went missing Tuesday on a flight from Bozeman to Helena.

DOT officials said pilot Sparky Imeson was killed in the crash.

“It’s difficult to find the right words to convey the sense of loss the Montana aeronautics community will experience,” said Debbie Alke of the state Aeronautics Division. “Sparky Imeson was a colleague and a friend to so many. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and our gratitude to all who have helped us find him.”

A rancher reported seeing a white plane in the Kimber Gulch, Beaver Creek area, west of Canyon Ferry Lake, between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. Tuesday. Broadwater County Sheriff Brenda Ludwig said the information helped search crews find the plane.

Imeson survived a 2007 plane crash in the Elkhorn Mountains.