Float Plane Crash in Oregon Kills Two

The first arriving officers indicated the aircraft was nose-down on its top, partially submerged, with the tail resting in trees on the bank.

Salem-News.com

(OREGON CITY, Ore. ) - Two people died shortly before noon Saturday when their float plane apparently broke-up in mid-air and crashed into the Willamette River about 200-yards above the Willamette Falls near Oregon City.

Multiple witnesses indicated the two-passenger, single-engine plane was taking off from the river toward the falls, rose to about 75-feet, wobbled in the air, and then began a steep turn to the left.

Witnesses then said the left wing of the plane separated and the aircraft plunged into the river on the West Linn side coming to rest against the bank.

Rescuers from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Clackamas County Sheriff, Clackamas County Fire District One, Lake Oswego Fire & Rescue and West Linn Police responded to the incident that occurred at 11:48 AM.

The first arriving officers indicated the aircraft was nose-down on its top, partially submerged, with the tail resting in trees on the bank.

TVF&R water rescue paramedics confirmed that both adult-males on-board were deceased.

Clackamas County Sheriff Marine Deputies secured the scene to await the arrival of Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board investigators.

The deceased remains could not be recovered until the aircraft is moved and federal investigators require the completion of their preliminary examination of the wreckage before it is moved.

Recovery operations are expected to begin late this afternoon.

The aircraft is being secured with the assistance of work boats from Baseline Industrial, a construction company wor king on the nearby Willamette Falls Dam.

Clackamas County Medical Examiner's Office have released the names of the two people killed today in a float plane crash on the Willamette River.

They are: 80-year old David Howard Wiley of Lake Oswego and 52-year-old Scott Alan Forsberg of Gilbert, Ariz.

The aircraft was identifed as a 1941 Taylorcraft floatplane with a tail number of N13060.