A Clatsop County dive team has recovered a plane that crashed into the Columbia River near Astoria Wednesday night, and the bodies of its pilot and passenger.
The pilot was officially identified as former Clark County commissioner John McKibbin, and his passenger as 64-year-old Irene Mustain.
After several hours of searching Friday morning, the eight-person dive team was able to locate the plane that had broken into numerous pieces and was scattered about the floor of the river.
Around 1:30 p.m. the dive team located McKibbin and successfully retrieved his body from the wreckage. Ms. Mustain was also located but due to the tangled wreckage and position of the fuselage, the divers were unable to retrieve her body.
Mustain's body will be recovered as soon as the appropriate equipment is obtained.
McKibbin and Mustain took off in the antique plane from Pearson Field in Vancouver Wednesday evening so Mustain could scatter the ashes of her late husband.
Soon after, the U.S. Coast Guard got reports of a small plane crashing into the Columbia River near Astoria. Deputies found oil in the water the next day.
McKibbin, 69, served two terms as a state representative before he was elected to the county commission in 1978. He left office in 1990 to become a real estate developer, but he remained active in the community.
A candlelight vigil honoring John McKibbin will be held Saturday, March 26 at 6 p.m. at Pearson Air Field in Vancouver.
(culled from katu.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment