Plane hit trees, dropped 40 feet
<p><strong>The pilot</strong> and two passengers were injured when their Cessna 206 plane crashed Tuesday morning at the Schafer Meadows Airstrip in the Great Bear Wilderness Area. (Photo courtesy of Arthur Pegg)</p>
Two men who survived a plane crash on Tuesday at an airstrip in the Great Bear Wilderness are recovering from their injuries.
Aaron Wamsley of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and Arthur Pegg of Lexington, Kentucky, are in stable condition at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, according to hospital spokesman Jim Oliverson.
They were passengers in a Cessna 206 that crashed on the west end of the Schafer Meadows Airstrip.
According to Wamsley’s wife, Monica, the plane was going about 90 mph at the time of impact. It hit trees and fell 40 feet to the ground.
She said her husband was covered in fuel and trapped in the plane for nearly an hour. A pilot by the name of James was at Schafer Meadows Ranger Station rescued Wamsley by cutting him out of the plane wreckage. The pilot’s last name is unknown.
Wamsley has lacerated legs, a bruised shoulder, a broken hand and an injured ankle. He is lucid and does not have a concussion, his wife said.
“Aaron says Montana is beautiful — it is his birthplace — and he was treated to the northern lights and to shooting stars Monday night,” Monica Wamsley said.
Wamsley, Pegg and the plane’s pilot were taken from Schafer to Kalispell City Airport via the Two Bear Air helicopter. From there, they were taken to the hospital.
The plane went down at around 11 a.m. Tuesday. It was a commercial charter Cessna owned by Red Eagle Aviation in Kalispell, according to Sheriff Chuck Curry.
The occupants planned to reach Schafer and then float down the challenging upper portion of the Middle Fork of the Flathead River.
Red Eagle Aviation has not returned requests for comment and the identity of the pilot is not yet known.
Monica Wamsley released a statement Wednesday to the Pagosa Springs Sun:
“The kindness and knowledge of Kalispell Regional’s staff have been unparalleled as we work through this from afar. Staff is impressed with Aaron’s progress and is amazed by his condition, considering the trauma. We hope to have Aaron home in a few days, and we are grateful for all who support him.”
Daily Inter Lake reporter Matt Hudson contributed to this story.