Plane crash claims 2
By Andy Gates - Argus Observer
Friday, May 11, 2007 11:34 AM PDT
| |
| The mangled remains of a two-passenger, experimental plane came to rest in this private alfalfa field near Nyssa Thursday around 9:45 a.m. Authorities said the two occupants, Orvile Vard Olsen, 71, and Lyndon Scott Wheeler, 57, both from Nyssa, were killed in the incident. The cause of the crash is under investigation. |
NYSSA - Two men died Thursday morning after the experimental plane they were riding in plummeted into an alfalfa field near Nyssa.
So far, officials have yet to determine what caused the tragic crash.
The men, who were both from Nyssa — Orvile Vard Olsen, 71, and Lyndon Scott Wheeler, 57 — were pronounced dead at the scene, Malheur County Undersheriff Brian Wolfe said.
The crash was reported around 9:45 a.m. by a farm worker who witnessed the incident in Idaho, Wolfe said. It occurred near the Snake River about two miles north of Nyssa in a privately-owned field.
Olsen was piloting the two-seater plane, and he had a valid pilot’s license, Wolfe said.
Authorities are still trying to determine where the plane took off from, and how long it was in the air before it crashed, Wolfe said.
“We know from witness statements it had been out for a little while and circled in that area,” Wolfe said.
The cause of the crash is unclear, though, and it is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, Wolfe said Thursday afternoon.
It could take months before the investigation is completed, Wolfe said, and the plane was not registered to Olsen or Wheeler.
It is not uncommon, though, for pilots to fly planes that are not registered to them, Wolfe said.
Witnesses have apparently provided authorities with conflicting statements, concerning what they heard before the plane went down.
One witness told authorities an audible putter was heard from the aircraft before it crashed, however, another witness heard no sounds of engine malfunction, Wolfe said.
The plane apparently went into the ground nose first, according to witness statements, Wolfe said.
“We’re still piecing a little bit of it together,” Wolfe said.
The plane will not be removed from the field for a couple days, Wolfe said.
The last fatal plane crash in the area was in July 2004. Two licensed pilots, aged 70 and 45, were killed during a flight lesson after their plane crashed into an onion field south of Cairo.
Only hours after Thursday’s tragic crash, Nyssa resident Cleta BeBoer mourned the loss of her friend.
“He (Olsen) was a great guy. We’ve been friends for a long time. It doesn’t seem real yet,” DeBoer said.
