Possible Human Remains Found With The Aircraft, Which May Be One Missing Since 2011

River rafters searching a long-abandoned mining site in the Grand Canyon for old mining equipment came across something much more recent ... the wreckage of a red airplane containing what appear to be human remains.

The Associated Press reports that the group had set up camp at a seldom-used site off the Colorado river about 30 miles northwest of Grand Canyon Village. On a hike, they found the airplane mostly hidden between two boulders. One of the hikers, John Weisheit, told the AP that the fuselage was very compressed, and that there were vertebrae in the cockpit.

The airplane is similar in size and color to a red RV-6 that went missing in Grand Canyon National Park in 2011, according to park spokeswoman Emily Davis. That plane had been piloted by Joseph Radford of Glendale AZ. An ELT signal prompted a massive search using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, but the source of the ELT was never discovered. The CAP also searched the area, as did hikers and others.

The NTSB said in its report on the accident that while the cause was "undetermined", it was likely that Radford intentionally flew his airplane into terrain. Authorities had told the board that he had had an argument with his wife, and had later told his girlfriend that he had formulated a plan to kill himself.

The Coconino County Medical Examiner's Office is working to positively identify the remains, a process which could take several months, according to the report. The NTSB will send a team to the site to investigate the accident.

(Image from file. Not accident airplane)

FMI: www.ntsb.gov