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Small plane crashes near Oregon airport; 2 dead

Victims in incident  near Eugene, were pilot, grandfather

By Associated Press
Published: September 7, 2015, 12:36pm

PORTLAND — A small plane crashed shortly after takeoff from an Oregon airport on Labor Day, killing the pilot and his grandfather.

Witnesses said the single-engine plane burst into flames around 10 a.m. Rescuers found it burning in a field near the runway at the Creswell Airport, 15 miles south of Eugene.

Video on the KEZI-TV website showed charred wreckage.

“After the fire was extinguished, which was pretty quick, it was identified there was two (bodies) on the plane,” Joe Raade, training division chief fo South Lane Fire and Rescue, told The Register-Guard newspaper.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office identified the pilot as Milo Skinner, 35, of Springfield, and the passenger as Hal Skinner, 83, also of Springfield. Records show and the sheriff’s office confirmed that Hal Skinner owned the two-seat Silvaire Luscombe 8A that his grandson was piloting.

Sheriff’s Lt. Chris Doyle said the aircraft had engine trouble shortly after takeoff and the pilot was trying to return to the airport. A witness saw the aircraft in the act of turning when it abruptly went down, Doyle said. 

The airport just east of Interstate 5 is owned and operated by the city of Creswell.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Traffic Safety Board responded to the crash site.

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