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Pilot of small plane dies in crash near Ellensburg

Ellensburg plane crash

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — The Kittitas County Sheriff’s Office says search and rescue volunteers have found a small plane that went missing Tuesday.

They say the Cessna 150 crashed near Whiskey Dick Mountain, which is east of Ellensburg.

The pilot did not survive.

WSDOT says the aircraft left the Yakima Air Terminal/McAllister Field at 3:43 p.m. Tuesday and was en route to the Lake Chelan Airport— but never arrived.

Radar data from the Civil Air Patrol National Radar Forensics Team shows the plane was headed on a northward path toward Ellensburg, followed by a northeastern trajectory.

WSDOT says the last recorded radar track indicated the plane’s location in the hills between Ellensburg and the Columbia River before the signal was lost.

Ground and air search teams deployed throughout the night, focusing on the area where the plane’s last radar signal was detected.

The sheriff’s office says the crash site was discovered Wednesday morning around 9:00 a.m. by a Life Flight helicopter.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.


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