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8 People Believed Dead After Planes Collide and Crash Into Idaho Lake 8 People Believed Dead After Planes Collide and Crash Into Idaho Lake
(about 7 hours later)
Three people were confirmed dead and at least five others believed killed after two planes collided in midair and crashed into a lake in Idaho on Sunday afternoon, the police said. Five people were confirmed dead and three others were believed to have died after two planes collided in midair and crashed into a lake in Idaho on Sunday afternoon, the authorities said.
“At this time it is believed there are no survivors,” Lt. Ryan Higgins of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. A third victim was recovered from the lake floor on Sunday night by a remote-operated vehicle and the sheriff’s sonar team, Lieutenant Higgins said. “At this point, we don’t anticipate any survivors,” Lt. Ryan Higgins of the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said at a news conference on Monday. “We think that everybody is deceased.”
He said the two planes hit each other and then crashed into Lake Coeur d’Alene, near Powderhorn Bay, sometime after 2 p.m. There was a “pretty bad oil slick” at the scene after the crash, Lieutenant Higgins said, according to KREM, a local outlet. One of the aircraft was a floatplane from a commercial flight operator, carrying five passengers and a pilot, the sheriff’s office said on Monday. The passengers were three children and two adults. Lieutenant Higgins said that one of the adult passengers was the father of the three children.
Both planes have been located by the sonar team in 127 feet of water, according to Lieutenant Higgins. He said that crews would be heading out again Monday afternoon after working late into the night before. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene. A third victim was recovered from the lake floor on Sunday night by a remote-operated vehicle and the sheriff’s sonar team, Lieutenant Higgins said.
One of the planes was a float plane from a commercial flight operator, carrying five passengers and a pilot, the sheriff’s office said on Monday. The passengers included three children and two adults. The bodies of two additional victims were found on Monday, Lieutenant Higgins said at the news conference, adding that divers, along with the remote-operated vehicle, would try to recover them later on Monday.
Inquiries to the flight operator, Brooks Seaplane, which provides scenic flights and instruction in North Idaho, were not immediately answered on Monday. The two planes hit each other and then crashed into Lake Coeur d’Alene, near Powderhorn Bay, at about 2:20 p.m. on Sunday, Lieutenant Higgins said. There was a “pretty bad oil slick” at the scene after the crash, he said, according to KREM-TV.
The second plane was a Cessna that had at least two occupants, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators were still trying to determine the number of occupants in that plane. Both planes were located by the sonar team in 127 feet of water, according to Lieutenant Higgins. He said that crews worked late into Sunday night and would be heading out again on Monday afternoon.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a statement that one of the planes was a Cessna 206. On Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the second aircraft was a de Havilland DHC-2. The recovery effort has been complicated by the depth of the lake, which Lieutenant Higgins said is dangerous for divers.
It was not immediately clear what may have led to the crash in Coeur d’Alene, a resort town about 33 miles east of Spokane, Wash. Lieutenant Higgins said that an investigation was underway, and that the N.T.S.B. said it was assisting. “We don’t want to have any other tragedies to happen from this,” he said.
The plane that was carrying five passengers was operated by Brooks Seaplane, which provides scenic flights and instruction in North Idaho. Noah Lunt, who identified himself as a son of the company’s owner, said in an email that he would not comment until he learned more about what had happened.
On Monday, the National Transportation Safety Board said the plane was a de Havilland DHC-2.
The second plane was a Cessna 206 that was registered to Echo Rental of Lewiston, Idaho, according to a Federal Aviation Administration database. Lieutenant Higgins said the authorities believed that only two people were aboard.
Investigators from the N.T.S.B. were on their way to the scene to conduct an inquiry into the crash, Lieutenant Higgins said on Monday. Plane debris that was found floating on the surface of the lake was collected for the N.T.S.B. and was in storage on Monday afternoon, he said.
It was not immediately clear what led to the crash in Coeur d’Alene, a resort town about 33 miles east of Spokane, Wash. Lieutenant Higgins said that an investigation was underway, and that the N.T.S.B. was assisting.
Johnny Diaz contributed reporting.Johnny Diaz contributed reporting.