Preliminary report details radar signals from plane

The Associated Press and The Daily Inter Lake

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued its preliminary report on the crash of a single-engine airplane onto the ice of Hungry Horse Reservoir.

The April 1 crash killed Whitefish veterinarian Hugh Rogers on his 50th birthday.

The federal agency said the airplane took off from Glacier Park International Airport at 4:02 p.m., climbed to an altitude of 4,500 feet and three miles away from the airport made a 360-degree left turn.

The plane continued to climb to 5,100 feet, and the last radar return was received at 4:08 p.m. about a mile west of the town of Hungry Horse.

According to the report, the plane crashed onto Hungry Horse Reservoir about 26 miles southeast of the last radar signal.

A routine weather report issued from the airport at 4:55 p.m. showed winds gusting up to 23 mph with visibility at 10 miles.

The NTSB report does not list a cause of the crash, which remains under investigation.

The plane left a debris field approximately 240 feet long, according to Sheriff's Deputy Jordan White, Flathead County Search and Rescue coordinator.

White said the plane's wreckage was pointed north. It appears the plane descended onto the ice before skidding and coming to rest about 35 miles south of Hungry Horse Dam.

"The fuselage was crushed, the wings were both badly damaged," White said. "The tail section was the only portion still intact."

The plane, which stayed upright, still had fuel on board and did not burn, White said.

The Flathead County Sheriff's Office began searching for Rogers' plane after a satellite picked up an emergency locater beacon near the reservoir around 4:30 p.m.

Rescue personnel on snowmobiles with North Valley Search and Rescue and Flathead County Search and Rescue found the wreckage at about 12:30 a.m. the next day.

First responders from the Sheriff's Office, who found the plane covered by a layer of snow, said snow and clouds prevented them initiating the search for the downed plane from the air.

Four search-and-rescue members stayed overnight with Rogers' body.