VALLEY COUNTY, IDAHO, Idaho — Two people were killed and one was seriously injured when a small plane crashed in the central Idaho wilderness on Saturday afternoon.
Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, told KTVB the Cessna TU206 departed from the McCall airport at 12:30 p.m. with three people onboard. It crashed near Mormon Mountain in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, which is at an elevation of more than 9,500 feet.
The pilot was the only person to survive the crash. He was flown to a hospital in Boise.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration incident notification filed on Monday, Aug. 30, the plane was on a sightseeing flight with McCall Aviation. The plane suffered substantial damage in the crash.
Weiss says investigators were out at the crash site again on Tuesday working to gather more details from the wreckage. He said the plane crashed in mountainous terrain and they hope to remove the debris and bring it to a more secure location to finish their investigation.
He expects a preliminary report about the crash to be released in two weeks. A full report could take 12-24 months.
Valley County Coroner Scott Carver says the victims' remains were recovered from the wreckage Saturday evening. He identified the crash victims as Donald Scott Mac Rae, 62, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and James Robert Atkins, 56, of McCall, Idaho. Their cause of death is pending an autopsy.
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