Seven Bodies Recovered From WA Accident Site

Crews searching for a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan that went missing this weekend over Washington state discovered the wreckage of the missing aircraft Monday night, just below the crest of the Cascade Mountain range near White Pass.

Authorities tell The Associated Press bodies of seven of the 10 people believed onboard the skydiving plane have been recovered.

"I'm told it was a horrific sight and the airplane crashed at a fairly high speed," said Jim Hall, director of Yakima Valley Emergency Management. "It appears that no one survived that crash."

As ANN reported, the loaned Caravan (photo of accident aircraft below) departed Star, ID Sunday night, for the flight home to Shelton, WA. The plane was carrying skydivers who had participated in a weekend skydiving meet in Idaho.

Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin told reporters the debris suggests the aircraft impacted the mountainside in a steep nosedive.

IDENTIFICATION
  Regis#: 430A        Make/Model: C208      Description: 208 Caravan 1, (Super)Cargomaster, Grand
  Date: 10/08/2007     Time: 0325

  Event Type: Accident   Highest Injury: Fatal     Mid Air: N    Missing: N
  Damage: Unknown

LOCATION
  City: WHITE PASS   State: WA   Country: US

DESCRIPTION
  N430A, A CESSNA 208B AIRCRAFT, CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES WHILE
  TRANSPORTING PARACHUTE JUMPING TEAM, THE 10 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE FATALLY
  INJURED, WAS THE SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE, WRECKAGE LOCATED IN THE
  VICINITY OF  WHITE PASS, WA

INJURY DATA      Total Fatal:  10
                 # Crew:   1     Fat:   1     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Pass:   9     Fat:   9     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   
                 # Grnd:         Fat:   0     Ser:   0     Min:   0     Unk:   

WEATHER: UNKNOWN

OTHER DATA
  Activity: Other      Phase: Unknown      Operation: OTHER

  FAA FSDO: SPOKANE, WA  (NM13)                   Entry date: 10/09/2007

FMI: www.faa.gov