Wreckage found early Thursday
This map shows the location of Hugh Rogers' plane that crashed Wednesday on the ice of Hungry Horse Reservoir, 35 miles from Hungry Horse Dam. Flathead County GIS Department graphic
A Whitefish veterinarian was killed Wednesday when his single-engine airplane crashed onto the ice of Hungry Horse Reservoir.
The body of 50-year-old Hugh Rogers was found early Thursday morning amid the wreckage of his 1967 Maule M-4, according to Flathead County Undersheriff Pete Wingert.
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been called in to investigate the crash.
Jeanne MacPherson of the State Aeronautics Division said she did not believe Rogers made a distress call before going down.
The Flathead County Sheriff's Office began searching for Rogers' plane, which was based out of Glacier Park International Airport, after a satellite picked up an emergency locator beacon near the reservoir around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Rescue personnel on snowmobiles with the North Valley Search and Rescue team and Flathead County Search and Rescue team found the wreckage at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday, on the reservoir about 35 miles south of Hungry Horse Dam.
The ALERT helicopter also assisted in the search, which was hampered by strong winds, snow and poor visibility.
Four search-and-rescue members stayed overnight with Rogers' body, which was removed from the crash site Thursday. The body will be taken to the state crime lab in Missoula for an autopsy, Wingert said.
Rogers, a Whitefish veterinarian who has run Alpine Animal Hospital since 1997, was flying a bush plane designed for rugged or unimproved environments.
Wednesday's crash was the third fatal airplane crash in Montana in just over two weeks.
Sparky Imeson of Helena was killed when his Cessna 180 crashed near Canyon Ferry Lake on March 17. Fourteen people were killed when their Pilatus PC-12 crashed near Bert Mooney Airport in Butte on March 22. The plane carried three young families from California, including seven children under the age of 10, who were traveling to Montana for a ski vacation.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com