3 killed in small plane crash near North Bend

NORTH BEND, Wash. — Three people have been killed in the crash of a small plane near North Bend. King County sheriff’s Sgt. Cindi West says searchers who reached the scene at daylight this morning found the bodies of two men and a woman in a Cessna 172, a single-engine four-seater. The plane crashed about 2:30 a.m. on the southeast face of the Little Si section of Mount Si. West says residents reported hearing a plane sputtering and an explosion. She says two deputies who were on a call in the area also heard the impact. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus says preliminary information indicates the plane was not in contact with air traffic control. Mount Si is a 4,200-foot peak, popular with climbers and hikers, about 30 miles east of Seattle.