Skydiving crash 'kills ten'
A local hunter noticed a low-flying aircraft
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Tuesday, 09, Oct 2007 10:14
A plane crash in the United States' Washington Cascades has claimed the lives of a pilot and nine skydivers, it is feared.
According to Yakima County sheriff Ken Irwin, seven of the ten people on board the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan "have been found deceased", with rescue operations suspended overnight.
The aircraft had left Star, near the Idaho state capital of Boise, on Sunday evening. It had been heading to Shelton, Washington, for a skydiving meet but was reported missing en route.
However, wreckage of the Cessna was found at around 19:40 local time (03:40 BST), according to Yakima Valley Emergency Management spokeswoman Tina Wilson.
She explained that recovery teams were able to identify the aircraft from its serial number, with the plane's tail section separated from the rest of the Cessna and not yet located.
After a local hunter reported noticing a small plane flying low before hearing a crash, Yakima County officials search a heavily wooded area southwest of the Cascades' Rimrock Lake, with the smell of fuel leading to the Cessna's eventual discovery.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued several directives against the Cessna 208 Grand Caravan, with 20 crashes across the globe since 1990 linked to icy conditions, according to the FAA and Transportation Safety Board of Canada.