Plane Went Down Last Week In Heavy Snow

Rescuers searching for the wreckage from a Cessna 421 that went down in Washington state January 25 say any sign of the aircraft has likely been obscured by heavy snowfall in the area.

There is also no sign of the pilot, 42-year-old Martin Ayres. He was the only person onboard the twin-engine airplane (file photo of type, right).

As many as 30 people on snowmobiles and sno-cats are searching a rugged area of Skamania County, about 40 miles east of Vancouver, for the aircraft -- which, like most GA planes, is painted bright white, creating an unfortunate camouflage effect.

An aerial search would possibly be more successful in locating the stricken aircraft -- but the Associated Press reports crews can't get off the ground due to the weather.

Ayres had been flying from his home in Scottsdale, AZ to Tacoma when his aircraft dropped off radar. FAA reports show Ayres had radioed Portland controllers he was trying to fly out of poor weather conditions before his aircraft went down.

The snow at the expected accident site is over four feet deep, according to Portland's KATU-TV, and there are no roads in the search area.

FMI: www.faa.gov