A small plane crashed on Thursday, the 7th of May. The aircraft collapsed into a river in Spokane, Washington, east of Upriver Dam, which is adjacent to Felts Field, a small public airport. The accident occurred late in the afternoon and the two people on it died.
Fire Deputy Chief Andy Hail reported that the team managed to pull the two men from the river at about 4.45 p.m., after they had been under the cold water for thirty minutes, which drastically diminished their chances to survive the accident. Their injuries were too severe to give them a chance to make it through, so they finally succumbed to them and both died. According to the Fire Deputy Chief Hail, they were taken to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, but there was nothing the doctors could do for them. Deputy medical investigator Jim Uttke released their names to the press, identifying them as Richard Runyon and Lyndon Amestoy. He did not reveal their ages or any other details. It is also unknown whether the pilot was Uttke or Amestoy.
The police did not give much detail related to the two people who died in the plane crash, even if a police spokeswoman released a statement, saying that a National Transportation Safety Board investigator was expected on Friday, the 8th of May 2015. The plane will most likely be pulled out of the river on Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board, according to Melanie Rose, a Spokane Valley Fire spokeswoman.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer stated that the plane was a 1996 Piper PA46, belonging to Flying Colors Aviation LLC in Woodland Hills, California. It was going on a flight test before it crashed.
As far as the causes of the accident are concerned, there are no official reports yet. However, according to KREM-TV, the two men who died had radioed problems with the engine before the crash. They also attempted to make an emergency landing on Felts Field airport, which is situated northeast of central Spokane, along the river bank.
A small amount of fuel leak was reported in the river and the Ecology State Department is scheduled to deal with it.
This is not the first plane crash occurring near Felts Field. Another Piper Malibu was involved in an accident while it lost power on climb and was wrecked on impact with the ground. The pilot, Michael Clements, died from fatal injuries two days later. He was the only person in the plane.
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