Missing pilot found dead in WA plane crash
KING COUNTY, Wash. - Search and rescue crews have located a missing pilot and his aircraft near North Bend after he apparently crashed in a heavily forested area.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) says crews discovered the crash site near Humpback Mountain around 1:30 p.m., just west of Snoqualmie Pass.
The pilot, 69-year-old Jerry Riedinger of Issaquah, was found dead inside the wreckage of his 2001 Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L. Riedinger was first reported missing by his wife around 6 p.m. on Sunday after he did not arrive at his destination in Ephrata.
He originally flew out of Arlington Municipal Airport on Sunday at around 4:30 p.m. and was last seen at about 6,500 feet in the air when connection was lost.
Riedinger was the only occupant of the plane.
WSDOT says cell phone and flight data led search and rescue teams to the area near Humpback Mountain off I-90. More than 220 people assisted in the search efforts on Sunday and Monday.
The King County Sheriff’s Office and National Transportation Safety Board are now investigating this incident.
Riedinger was a Seattle area attorney who loved flying planes. He was an experienced airshow pilot.
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Editor's note: The elevation the plane was last recorded at has been corrected.
