Authorities Monday concluded the search for a missing plane after the pilot was found dead among the wreckage in the Cascade Range.
The Washington State Department of Transportation said Sunday the missing plane, a 2001 Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L, was piloted by 69-year-old Jerry Riedinger. Riedinger left the Arlington Municipal Airport Sunday afternoon and was reported missing by his wife around 6 p.m. after he did not arrive in Ephrata.
On Monday afternoon, Riedinger was found dead by ground search crews in the wreckage in a heavily forested area near Humpback Mountain, according to the department.
The cause of the crash will be determined by the National Transportation Safety Board.
A 50-person ground search was underway for Riedenger, the department said Monday morning, with one aircraft searching from the skies.
Riedinger was carrying a parachute, and the aircraft was equipped with a new emergency locator transmitter, according to the department.
