1 killed in plane crash into Flathead River
Rescue crews stand along the shore of the Flathead River near Perma after a plane crashed into the river on Sunday. (Jack Bodnar photo)
The pilot of a small airplane was killed after the aircraft clipped some power lines and crashed into the Flathead River on Sunday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration’s initial crash report indicates.
According to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Office, the crashed happened at about 8:45 a.m., east of the Perma bridge along Montana 200 between Paradise and Dixon. The pilot was the lone occupant of the plane, the FAA report states.
The Plains-Paradise rural fire department’s water rescue team responded to the scene and pulled the pilot from the river, along with a Good Samaritan who assisted in the rescue effort.
The plane’s pilot was transported to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell.
According to the FAA report, the plane was a fixed-wing single-engine Scoda Aeronautica Super Petrel LC. The plane was registered out of Missoula County.
Personnel from Sanders County Sheriff's Office, Tribal Law Enforcement, Tribal Fish Wildlife and Game, Plains-Paradise Rural Fire District, Plains Community Ambulance, Hot Springs Fire and EMS, Dixon QRU, Mission Valley Power, Montana State Fish Wildlife and Parks responded.
This crash is under investigation by the NTSB.