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Autopsies: Two in plane crash died of chest injuries

The Columbian
Published: May 8, 2015, 5:00pm

SPOKANE— Autopsies show that two men killed when a small plane crashed into the Spokane River died of blunt impact chest injuries, the Spokane County medical examiner’s office said Friday.

The men who died Thursday have been identified as Lyndon Amestoy, 60, and Richard Runyon, 64. Officials did not know which man was the pilot. The men were underwater for about 30 minutes before divers pulled them free.

The plane, a Piper PA46, remained submerged in the river. A salvage company planned to bring in air bags that will be inflated to float the aircraft to the surface today so it can be dragged to shore, KXLY-TV reported.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash. The men had reported engine trouble, and the pilot tried to make an emergency landing at Felts Field, a small public airport on the north bank of the river.

The state Department of Ecology was called to the scene to oversee cleanup of a fuel leak from the plane.

Witnesses said they could tell something was wrong with the plane.

“It sounded weird, like it was struggling,” witness David Dexter said.

Richard La Belle was climbing rocks when he saw the crash.

“It didn’t pierce the water, it slapped it,” La Belle said, adding that it sank quickly.

A fire station is near Felts Field, but a passing freight train prevented emergency crews from immediately getting to the crash scene, Assistant Fire Chief Brian Schaefer said.

It was the second plane crash in Spokane this year.On Feb. 22, a single-engine Piper Malibu Mirage that had just taken off from Felts Field crashed near the Hamilton Street bridge in Spokane, killing the pilot.

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