Saab repair business owner from Spokane killed in Idaho plane crash

The pilot killed in a Sunday evening plane crash in rural Kootenai County has been identified as John T. Lippis of Spokane. The 67-year-old pilot was flying a 1980 fixed-wing, single-engine plane, classified as “experimental,” according to the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department. Lippis apparently took off from the Shoshone County Airport Sunday afternoon to do some recreational flying in the area. Lippis owned Swedish Motorcar Service in North Spokane for more than 20 years. The sheriff’s office responded to reports of a plane crash at about 7:45 p.m. in the area of Beaver Road and River Road near Cataldo, Idaho. The downed plane was located near a residence in the 1300 block of Beaver Road. Lippis, the plane’s only occupant, was found dead. An autopsy has been requested by the coroner’s office. The cause of the crash is not yet known. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are at the crash site today.