Preliminary report reveals details about Pablo plane crash

By MICHELLE LOVATO

Lake County Leader

Brett Thoft had recently installed a new propeller in the plane that crashed Dec. 16, a report from the National Tansportation and Safety Board said.

Tim Schauss, a Polson resident and owner of Pablo Family Foods, was in the back seat of the plane at the time of the crash, the Jan. 6 report said.

The accident that occurred at about 4:30 p.m. near Pablo  killed Thoft and seriously injured Schauss, the report said.

Schauss is a student pilot, the report said.

The two men had navigated the Ronan sky 15 minutes before the accident.

“Numerous witnesses reported observing the airplane maneuvering at a low altitude a few minutes prior to the accident,” the report said. “One witness recalled hearing the airplane’s engine accelerate and rev higher just prior to the impact. Another witness stated that he observed the airplane perform several erratic maneuvers where it was low to the ground and would rapidly climb and descend similar to an agricultural operation (crop dusting).”

Thoft sat in the front seat of the plane and Schauss sat behind him in the Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub tandem plane. 

The propeller created a “ground scar signatures in the terrain, consistent with the propeller and left wing tip colliding with terrain at the initial impact,” the report said.

The plane came to rest on a hillside about 100 feet below its peak in the Valley View Hills area, the report said. The aircraft was found with its nose headed upslope. 

After the Dec. 16 crash, Schauss was airlifted to Kalispell Regional Medical Center with injuries to his legs and back, said his son Taylor Schauss, who is running Pablo Family Foods in his father’s absence. 

Medical personnel in Kalispell then flew Schauss to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he recovered and is expected to be released next week, Taylor Schauss said.

Thoft and Schauss were good family friends, Taylor Schauss said.

Thoft operates an air taxi business out of Wasilla Alaska, and was in Lake County visiting family when the accident occurred. 

Thoft was married to Polson native Nicole Stanley. They have two small daughters, four and six years old.