Dr. Pam Bird, Don And Tookie Hensley All Aboard When Airplane Went Down

Dr. Pam Bird ... of the Bird Aviation Museum in Idaho ... was fatally injured Thursday along with her friend, renowned pilot Tookie Hensley and Tookie's husband Don. All three were aboard Bird's Cessna 182 on their way from Idaho To Maine.

FAA records indicated that the three were fatally injured when the airplane, registered to Dr. Bird, went down "under unknown circumstances" on Thursday near Hope, ID. Television Station KSLY reports that Dr. Bird was in the left front seat of the airplane, and Hensley was in the right front seat. The plane impacted terrain near Round Top Mountain about 10 minutes after takeoff. There was a post-impact fire.

Don Hensley's body had not been recovered. Both Bird and Tookie Hensley had been burned beyond recognition, and authorities indicated that there was no reason to believe that Don Hensley had survived the accident, though his remains were not found with the wreckage.

The search was initiated after an ELT signal was received at 0826 local time. The wreckage of the airplane was still smoldering when it was discovered by Civil Air Patrol searchers at about 1430, according to television station KREM. Searchers had a difficult time locating the wreckage because of clouds in the area, according to the report.

Dr. Bird was the wife of Dr. Forrest Bird, himself a famous aviator and the inventor of mechanical ventilators for acute and chronic cardiopulmonary care. He passed away in August of natural causes at the age of 94.

Dr. Bird and the Hensleys were planning to travel from Bird Field to Minot, ND, and then on to Bar Harbor, ME. The three then planned to fly to Gainesville FL.

(Image provided by the Civil Air Patrol)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov