Two in plane still in stable condition

The Daily Inter Lake

Two men injured Tuesday afternoon when their plane crashed in a horse corral about a quarter-mile south of Kalispell City Airport remained in stable condition Wednesday at Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday identified the men as 27-year-old Jamie Whealon of Polson and 22-year-old Nathaan Demers of Kalispell.

Whealon, a flight instructor, and Demers, his student, were performing touch-and-go exercises - practice landings immediately followed by takeoffs - when the crash occurred, Flathead County Sheriff's Detective Glen Fulton said.

The plane, which was flying south, had completed the landing portion of the exercise and was attempting to climb from the runway's south end when it went down shortly before 2 p.m.

Witnesses reported not hearing the plane until it crashed into the ground, which suggests engine failure, Fulton said.

Whealon had flown the plane, reportedly a Cessna 150, to Kalispell from Polson to give Demers a lesson.

Jason Prewitt was fishing in Ashley Creek with his wife and two children when the plane crashed on land belonging to Sykes' owner Doug Wise, who is Prewitt's father-in-law.

Prewitt's family was less than 30 yards from where the plane went down. The plane began burning as Prewitt climbed the corral fence and helped pull both men to safety.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board arrived Wednesday and are expected to move the wreckage into a hangar at the airport for study, Flathead County Sheriff Mike Meehan said.