The preliminary report into a fatal plane crash southeast of La Center that killed two seasoned pilots in April has been released, but offers no new details about its cause.
The National Transportation Safety Board’s report briefly details the crash that killed Milo Luther Kays, 73, of Camas and his passenger, 70-year-old Ridgefield resident Dennis R. Kozacek.
At 4:11 p.m. on April 29, a pilot flying over a marshy area south of the East Fork Lewis River reported seeing a light-colored plane down in a marshy, wet area at the end of Bjur Road off Northeast 269th Street, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. The pilot circled the crash site and directed emergency personnel to the scene.
Clark County Fire & Rescue and sheriff’s deputies found a Vans RV-6 — a small, single-engine, two-seat aircraft constructed from a kit — lying in about 2 feet of water.
According to the NTSB report, it’s still unclear exactly when or why the plane crashed. The report also says that weather conditions were such that Kays would have been able to fly using sight and sound to avoid terrain and other aircraft. No flight plan was filed, which is not unusual.
The report confirms Kays departed from Grove Field Airport north of Camas at 2:02 p.m. and was taking part in a biennial flight review with Kozacek, a veteran pilot.
Investigators found no radio communications between Kays’ plane and air traffic controllers, but tracking data was recovered that showed the plane climbed and leveled off before entering a steady descent toward the approach end of a Daybreak airfield runway. The wreckage of the plane was found about 1,000 feet from the runway, according to the report.
Weather conditions recorded at two nearby airports on the day of the crash were light winds and clear skies.
