All Four On Board Were Fatally Injured When The Airplane Went Down

The bodies of four people reported missing along with their rented Piper Arrow have been found inside the aircraft, which went down Sunday in rugged mountainous terrain in northwest Montana.

Piper Arrow File Photo

The bodies of Sonny Kless, the pilot of the airplane, as well as passengers Brian Williams of Coeur d'Alene and newspaper reporters Erica Hoefer and Melissa Weaver, both of whom worked for the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, MT, were all found along with the wreckage of the airplane. The Spokane, WA Spokesman-Review reports that the crash site near Revais Creek was found by a U.S. Department of Homeland Security helicopter. Because of the terrain, a Sanders County Sheriff's officer had to rappel down from another helicopter to reach the aircraft. Officer Rube Wrighstman said "because of the ruggedness of the area, you almost had to be right over the top to see it."

Authorities said they did not think a helicopter and rescue basket would be able to extract the bodies from the site, and that they would have to hike in to recover the remains.

Kless reportedly had about 100 hours of flight time, 30 of those in the Piper Arrow he rented to take his friends flying. His mother said the 25-year-old pilot had gotten his airman certificate about a year ago, and had flown the same route to Glacier National Park, Flathead Lake, and the Flathead River several times.

The NTSB has taken up the investigation.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov