14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Wednesday, December 19, 2012 in Libby, MT
Probable Cause Approval Date: 02/04/2015
Aircraft: BEECH B100, registration: N499SW
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
When the flight was about 7 miles from the airport and approaching it from the south in dark night conditions, the noncertificated pilot canceled the instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. A police officer who was on patrol in the local area reported that he observed a twin-engine airplane come out of the clouds about 500 ft above ground level and then bank left over the town, which was north of the airport. The airplane then turned left and re-entered the clouds. The officer went to the airport to investigate, but he did not see the airplane. He reported that it was dark, but clear, at the airport and that he could see stars; there was snow on the ground. He also observed that the rotating beacon was illuminated but that the pilot-controlled runway lighting was not. The Federal Aviation Administration issued an alert notice, and the wreckage was located about 7 hours later 2 miles north of the airport. The airplane had collided with several trees on downsloping terrain; the debris path was about 290 ft long. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. The town and airport were located within a sparsely populated area that had limited lighting conditions, which, along with the clouds and 35 percent moon illumination, would have restricted the pilot’s visual references. These conditions likely led to his being geographically disoriented (lost) and his subsequent failure to maintain sufficient altitude to clear terrain. Although the pilot did not possess a valid pilot’s certificate, a review of his logbooks indicated that he had considerable experience flying the airplane, usually while accompanied by another pilot, and that he had flown in both visual and IFR conditions. A previous student pilot medical certificate indicated that the pilot was color blind and listed limitations for flying at night and for using color signals. The pilot had applied for another student pilot certificate 2 months before the accident, but this certificate was deferred pending a medical review.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The noncertificated pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from terrain while maneuvering to land in dark night conditions likely due to his geographic disorientation (lost). Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s improper decision to fly at night with a known visual limitation.
HISTORY OF FLIGHT
On December 19, 2012, about 0002 mountain standard time (MST), a Beech B100, N499SW, collided with trees near Libby, Montana. Stinger Welding was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The non-certificated pilot and one passenger sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed from impact forces. The cross-country personal flight departed Coolidge, Arizona, about 2025 MST with Libby as the planned destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the nearest official reporting station, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the pilot had been cleared for the GPS-A instrument approach procedure for the Libby Airport (S59), which was located 7 nm south-southeast of Libby. The pilot acknowledged that clearance at 2353. At 2359, the airplane target was about 7 miles south of the airport; the pilot reported the field in sight, and cancelled the IFR flight plan. Recorded radar data indicated that the airplane was at a Mode C altitude of 11,700 feet mean sea level at that time, and the beacon code changed from 6057 to 1200.
A track obtained from the FilghtAware internet site indicated a target at 2320 at 26,000 feet that was heading in the direction of Libby. The target began a descent at 2340:65. At 2359:10, and 11,700 feet mode C altitude, the beacon code changed to 1200. The target continued to descend, and crossed the Libby Airport, elevation 2,601 feet, at 0000:46 at 8,300 feet. The track continued north; the last target was at 0001:58 and a Mode C altitude of 5,000 feet; this was about 3 miles south of Libby and over 4 miles north of the airport.
A police officer reported that he observed a twin-engine airplane come out of the clouds over the city of Libby about 500 feet above ground level. It turned left, and went back into the clouds. The officer thought that it was probably going to the airport; he went to the airport to investigate, but observed no airplane. It was dark, but clear, at the airport with about 3 inches of snow on the ground, and he could see stars. He also observed that the rotating beacon was illuminated, but not the pilot controlled runway lighting. He listened for an airplane, but heard nothing.
When the pilot did not appear at a company function at midday on December 18, they reported him overdue. The Prescott, Arizona, Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) issued an alert notice (ALNOT) at 1102 MST; the wreckage was located at 1835.
PERSONNEL INFORMATION
A review of FAA medical records revealed that the 54-year-old pilot first applied for an Airman Medical and Student Pilot Certificate in August 2004. On that Medical Certification Application, the pilot reported having 500 hours total time with 200 hours in the previous 6 months. No alcohol or medication usage was reported; however, the pilot was determined to be red/green color blind.
On June 9, 2010, the pilot reported on an application for an Airman Medical and Student Pilot Certificate that he had 925 hours total time with 150 hours in the previous 6 months. He was issued a third-class medical certificate that was deemed not valid for night flying or using color signal control.
On May 16, 2012, the pilot received a driving while intoxicated (DWI) citation in Libby.
The pilot reported on an application for an Airman Medical and Student Pilot Certificate dated October 16, 2012, that he had a total time of 980 hours with 235 hours logged in the previous 6 months. Item 52 for color vision indicated fail. This application reported a new diagnosis of hypertension, and use of medications to control it. This application reported yes in item 17 (v) for history of arrest of conviction for driving while intoxicated. The FAA deferred the issuance of the Student Pilot and Medical Certificate, indicating that they were investigating a failure to report within 60 days the alcohol-related motor vehicle action that occurred in Montana on May 16, 2012.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) reviewed copies of the pilot's logbooks beginning on March 21, 2010, and ending November 4, 2012. The entries indicated a total time of 978 hours during that time period. Time logged for the 90 days prior to the accident was 34 hours. The logbooks recorded numerous trips to Libby with three entries in the previous 90 days. The last solo flight endorsement, in a Cessna 340, was signed off by a certified flight instructor in August 2011. The logbook contained several entries for flights in instrument flight rules (IFR) conditions.
The IIC interviewed the chief pilot for the company, who was hired to fly the Stinger Company's Cessna CJ2 jet, which they purchased about 4 years earlier. The accident pilot owned the company, and would typically have the chief pilot arrange for a contract pilot to fly with him in the accident airplane. The chief pilot was standing by to fly the owner in the CJ2, but the owner never contacted him or requested another pilot for the accident airplane.
The IIC interviewed a contract pilot who flew with the accident pilot on December 16, 2012; this was their only flight together. It was a 6-hour round trip from Coolidge to La Paz, Mexico. The airplane was in perfect condition; everything was working, and they had no squawks. The pilot had paper charts, as well as charts on an iPad. The contract pilot felt that the pilot handled the airplane well, was competent, and understood all of the systems. The pilot coached the contract pilot on the systems installed including the autopilot. They used it on the outbound trip, and it operated properly. They used the approach mode into La Paz including vertical navigation. The pilot had no complaints of physical ailments or lack of sleep, and fuelled the airplane himself.
The passenger was a company employee who was not a pilot.
AIRCRAFT INFORMATION
The airplane was a Beech B100, serial number BE89. The airplane's logbooks were not provided and examined.
The IIC interviewed Stinger Welding's aviation maintenance chief, whose 4-year employment was terminated about 1 month after the accident. He stated that the airplane typically flew 200-400 hours a year; the company had flown it about 800 hours since its acquisition. The chief was not aware of any unresolved squawks as the owner usually had him take care of maintenance needs immediately. The airplane had been out of service for maintenance for a long time the previous year, having taken almost 7 months to get the propeller out of the shop due to the repair cost. The maintenance chief said that the owner kept the onboard Garmin GPS databases up to date. The airplane was operated under Part 91 CFR, and inspections being delayed were: the 6-year landing gear inspection was past due; the 12-month items were due; and the 3-year wing structure and wing bolt inspection was due.
METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS
The closest official weather observation station was Sandpoint, Idaho (KSZT), which was 46 nautical miles (nm) west of the accident site at an elevation of 2,131 feet mean sea level (msl). An aviation routine weather report (METAR) issued at 2355 MST stated: wind from 220 degrees at 5 knots; visibility 10 miles; sky 2,800 feet overcast; temperature 0/32 degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit; dew point -3/27 degrees Celsius/Fahrenheit; altimeter 29.72 inches of mercury. Illumination of the moon was 35 percent.
AIRPORT INFORMATION
The Airport/ Facility Directory, Northwest Pacific U. S., indicated that Libby Airport had an Automated Weather Observation System (AWOS)-A, which broadcast on frequency 118.575.
Libby runway 15/33 was 5,000 feet long and 75 feet wide; the runway surface was asphalt. The airport elevation was 2,601 feet.
The airport was located within the general confines of the Kootenai National Forest, and beyond the town of Libby; the area was lightly inhabited.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION
The IIC and investigators from the FAA and Honeywell examined the wreckage on site. Detailed examination notes are part of the public docket. The center of the debris field was about 2.5 miles north of the airport at an elevation of 4,180 feet.
A description of the debris field references debris from left and right of the centerline of the debris path; the debris was through trees on a slope that went downhill from left to right. The debris path was about 290 feet long along a magnetic bearing of 125 degrees.
The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a topped tree with branches on the ground below it and in the direction of the debris field. About 50 feet from the tree were composite shards, and a piece of the composite engine nacelle, which had a hole punched in it.
The next point of contact was a 4-foot-tall tree stump with shiny splinters on the stump. The lower portion of the tree had been displaced about 30 feet in the direction of the debris field with the top folded back toward the stump. Underneath the tree trunk were the nose gear and control surfaces followed by wing pieces.
One engine and propeller with all four blades attached was about 50 feet from the stump, and on the right side of the debris path. This was later determined to be the right engine. Next on the left side of the debris path was the outboard half of one propeller blade; another propeller blade was about 10 feet further into the debris field.
Midway into the debris field were several trees with sheet metal wrapped around them. Near the midpoint of the debris field, a portion of the instrument panel had imbedded into a tree about 15 feet above the ground. The wiring bundle hung down the tree trunk to ground level. To the left of the instrument panel was one of the largest pieces of wreckage. This piece contained the left and right horizontal stabilizers, vertical stabilizer, and part of one wing with the landing gear strut attached. The rudder separated, but was a few feet left of this piece.
Next in the debris field was a 6- by 8-foot piece of twisted metal, which contained the throttle quadrant.
About 100 feet right of the debris path centerline and downhill from the throttle quadrant was a 10-foot section of the aft cabin. This section was connected by steel cables and wires to a 4- by 7-foot piece of twisted metal.
The furthest large piece of wreckage was the second engine; this was later determined to be the left engine. The left propeller hub with two blades attached had separated from the engine; the other two blades were located earlier within the debris field.
MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION
The Forensic Science Division, Department of Justice, State of Montana, completed an autopsy, and determined that the cause of death was blunt force injuries.
The FAA Forensic Toxicology Research Team, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, performed toxicological testing of specimens of the pilot.
Analysis of the specimens indicated no carbon monoxide detected in blood (cavity), no test performed for cyanide, no ethanol detected in muscle or kidney, and no findings for tested drugs.
TESTS AND RESEARCH
The IIC and investigators from the FAA, Textron Aviation, and Honeywell examined the wreckage at Avtech, Kent, Washington, on February 13, 2013.
Detailed examination notes are part of the public docket. Investigators observed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airframe or engines.
The engines had been modified from Honeywell models to National Flight Services, INC., models per a supplemental type certificate (STC SE002292AT), and installed in the airplane per STC SA00856AT.
The left engine was TPE331-6-511B, serial number P-27185C based on a Beechcraft data tag on the engine. The starter/generator input shaft fractured and separated; the fracture surface was angular and twisted.
No metallic debris was adhering to the engine chip detector.
The engine inlet fractured and separated from the engine gearcase housing. Earthen debris was observed on the first stage compressor impeller. Vanes of the first stage impeller were bent opposite the direction of rotation.
Overall, the compressor case and plenum displayed crush damage. Upon removal of the airframe exhaust, investigators observed earthen debris within the engine exhaust. There was a fine layer of dried mud/earthen debris on the forward suction side of the third stage turbine blades. Investigators observed metal spray deposits on the third stage turbine stator vanes.
All four propeller blades exhibited leading edge damage; a section of one blade was not recovered with the aircraft wreckage, but this blade's tip was recovered.
The right engine was a TPE331-6-511B, serial number P27190C.
Investigators observed rotational scoring in multiple locations on the propeller shaft. The first stage compressor impeller displayed tearing and battering damage; some vanes were bent opposite the direction of rotation. Investigators observed wood debris in the engine inlet area.
Investigators observed metal spray deposits noted on the suction side of the third stage turbine stator vanes.
All four of the right propeller's blades displayed leading edge damage and chordwise scoring. One tip fractured and separated; it was not recovered. All blades bent aft at midspan; they exhibited s-bending and tip curling.
http://registry.faa.gov/N499SW
NTSB Identification: WPR13FA073
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Tuesday, December 18, 2012 in Libby, MT
Aircraft: BEECH B100, registration: N499SW
Injuries: 2 Fatal.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On December 18, 2012, about 0002 mountain standard time (MST), a Beech B100, N499SW, collided with trees at Libby, Montana. Stinger Welding was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. The noncertificated pilot and one passenger sustained fatal injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage from impact forces. The cross-country personal flight departed Coolidge, Arizona, about 2025 MST on December 17th, with Libby as the planned destination. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the nearest official reporting station of Sandpoint, Idaho, 264 degrees at 46 miles, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan had been filed.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported that the pilot had been cleared for the GPS-A instrument approach procedure for the Libby Airport. The clearance had a crossing restriction of 10,700 feet at the PACCE intersection, which was the initial approach fix for the GPS-A approach. The pilot acknowledged that clearance at 2353. At 2359, the airplane target was about 7 miles south of the airport; the pilot reported the field in sight, and cancelled the IFR flight plan.
A police officer reported that he observed an airplane fly over the city of Libby, which was north of the airport; the airplane then turned toward the airport. The officer went to the airport to investigate, but observed no airplane. He noted that it was foggy in town, but the airport was clear. He also observed that the rotating beacon was illuminated, but not the pilot controlled runway lighting.
When the pilot did not appear at a company function at midday on December 18, they reported him overdue. The Prescott, Arizona, Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) issued an alert notice (ALNOT) at 1102 MST; the wreckage was located at 1835.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) and investigators from the FAA and Honeywell examined the wreckage on site. A description of the debris field references debris from left and right of the centerline of the debris path. The debris was through trees on a slope that went downhill from left to right.
The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a topped tree with branches on the ground below it and in the direction of the debris field. About 50 feet from the tree were composite shards, and a piece of the composite engine nacelle, which had a hole punched in it.
The next point of contact was a 4-foot tree stump with shiny splinters on the stump. The lower portion of the tree had been displaced about 30 feet in the direction of the debris field with the top folded back toward the stump. Underneath the tree trunk were the nose gear and a couple of control surfaces followed by wing pieces.
One engine with the propeller attached was about 50 feet from the stump, and on the right side of the debris path. Next on the left side of the debris path was the outboard half of one propeller blade; another propeller blade was about 10 feet further into the debris field.
Midway into the debris field were several trees with sheet metal wrapped around them. Near the midpoint of the debris field, a portion of the instrument panel had imbedded into a tree about 15 feet above the ground. The wiring bundle hung down the tree trunk to ground level. To the left of the instrument panel was one of the largest pieces of wreckage. This piece contained the left and right horizontal stabilizers, vertical stabilizer, and part of one wing with the landing gear strut attached. The rudder separated, but was a few feet left of this piece.
Next in the debris field was a 6- by 8-foot piece of twisted metal, which contained the throttle quadrant.
About 100 feet right of the debris path centerline and downhill from the throttle quadrant was a 10-foot section of the aft cabin. This section was connected by steel cables and wires to a 4- by 7-foot piece of twisted metal.
The furthest large piece of wreckage was the second engine; the propeller hub with two blades attached had separated.
Libby Police Officer Darren Short saw Carl J. Douglas’ Beechcraft King Air drop below the clouds, maneuver a tight circle just above Town Pump and head south toward Libby Airport.
The plane’s low-banking curve and then disappearance into the night sky urged Short to drive to Libby Airport to investigate.
“I would guess that would be the case,” Short said, thinking Douglas was looking for familiar bearings. After seeing the plane about 12:10 a.m. Wednesday, Short drove to the airport.
“I got there and the (rotating) beacon was on but not the airport runway lights. “Those are activated by the pilot, so I don’t know if they came on but went out when I got there or what,” Short said.
Douglas, 54, the CEO of Stinger Welding, Inc., and his passenger, fellow Stinger employee John Smith, 43, never made it to the airport. The two men died minutes later Wednesday morning when Douglas crashed his twin-engine, turbo-prop Beechcraft into the darkness of Swede Mountain just three miles northeast of Libby Airport.
Circling Above
Short’s report of a pilot desperately trying to find Libby’s airstrip in the dark during a snowstorm was echoed by Shannon Myslicki, who lives at 232 Pinewood Lane just below Swede Mountain.
“I just let the dogs out, and I hear this loud noise and then I see the lights,” Myslicki said referring to aircraft landing-gear lights. “Usually, it’s trucks out on the road, but this was a plane. It was low. We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport.”
The time of the crash is estimated to be just after midnight, early Wednesday morning, Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said.
“At the time of the crash, the (airport) lights were not on,” Bowe said Wednesday evening, briefing the local press.
Bowe said the plane left Coolidge, Ariz., about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and the craft was expected to land at Libby Airport about 3½ hours later.
Search Begins
According to Libby Airport Board Chairman Ron Denowh, Douglas canceled his flight plan as he approached Libby Airport, something pilots often do when they are in the final throes of a flight.
“It’s just easier for them to do it from the air, as they’re wrapping up,” Denowh said.
However, about 11 hours later — at 11:12 a.m. Wednesday — Steve Patrick, vice president of Montana operations for Stinger Welding, called the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department to report the plane never arrived.
Reportedly, Stinger officials began a search for Douglas and Smith on Wednesday morning along the roads Douglas would have traveled to his home in the Yaak. When that search proved fruitless, they searched for his plane in a hangar at Libby Airport. In its absence, Stinger officials notified the Sheriff’s Department, which initiated the search.
The wreckage of the plane that carried Douglas and Smith, both from Coolidge, Ariz., was found about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the William’s Gulch area of Swede Mountain, very near the summit of 4,295 feet.
Former Lincoln County Commissioner John Konzen said he was told by officials at the scene that it looked like Douglas was trying to maneuver away from the mountain.
“It looked like he was banking and trying to turn toward the airport and didn’t make it,” Konzen said.
On Thursday, Bowe and other David Thompson Search & Rescue officials returned to the crash site as snow continued to fall in the Libby. Rescue personnel Thursday were accompanied by search dogs.
Retrieving Bodies
A statement from the Sheriff’s Department said officials were successful in retrieving the bodies of the two men. County Coroner Steve Schnackenberg was transporting the bodies to the Montana Crime Lab in Missoula for autopsies.
Bowe described the debris field as extensive and scattered.
“It was pretty close to the top,” Bowe said of the crash site, which could only be reached with the aid of snowmobiles. About 25 people assisted in the search, five of whom were from the Sheriff’s Department and the balance from David Thompson Search & Rescue and Montana Aeronautics, a Helena-based group that assists with locating plane crashes.
On Thursday, The Western News attempted to charter a flight to photograph the crash site, but inclement weather grounded Bill Caldwell, owner of Kootenai Aviation.
Bowe said the debris field was on the southern slope of the mountain, which is 2.9 miles from Libby. He said in the twilight of the day Wednesday he could not determine whether the plane crashed uphill or down.
Based on last-known radar data, officials began their search in an area just off Champion Haul Road. Libby Volunteer Ambulance, David Thompson Search & Rescue, and concerned Stinger employees gathered about a mile from Libby on the Haul Road as searchers scanned an area northeast of that location. It was there that officials recorded the final electronic beacon at an elevation of 5,900 feet. When those efforts revealed nothing, searchers moved toward the airport and in line with Swede Mountain.
Savvy Pilot
Denowh had come to know Douglas well, and he said Douglas was an accomplished pilot.
“He’d flown into Libby hundreds of times from Arizona,” Denowh said. “In 2011, logbooks indicate he’s flown into Libby 110 times, sometimes two or three times a day.”
“I can tell you this: The rotating beacon works. It was on,” Denowh said, trying to clear any confusion about airport lighting. “(The rotating beacon) comes automatically at dusk and goes off at sunrise.”
The runway lights, Denowh confirmed, are activated by the pilot as he approaches the airport.
Denowh admitted recently one of the lights on the beacon was out, but that it was quickly replaced. He also said the airport is transitioning between managers, and no one was at the airport Tuesday night had Douglas tried to call as he experienced problems locating the airstrip.
It was snowing heavily Tuesday night. Six inches fell during a 24-hour period.
“It’s just very likely (Douglas) couldn’t see the airport for the snow,” Denowh said.
Mike Noble, of rural Libby, drove past the Libby Airport just after midnight — early Wednesday — and said the airport was aflood with lights.
“I thought it odd that someone would be coming in at that hour, but the place was all lit up,” Noble said.
Short, the Libby patrolman who saw Douglas’ plane bank over Town Pump, said it looked as though “Douglas just got lost in the clouds.”
Douglas, who often flew his Beechcraft from Arizona to Libby, was scheduled for a Wednesday morning business meeting at the Libby Stinger offices. A Stinger employee Christmas party was scheduled for today.
According to incoming Airport Manager Jaime Gagnier, who searched for the crash site Wednesday from the air, said there was little remaining of the plane.
“We went up there, and we were right over the crash site and couldn’t see it because the plane is white with all the snow,” Gagnier said. “Bill and I and his wife, apparently, were right over it and couldn’t find it. It wasn’t until guys came in with the (electronic) locator to pinpoint the beacon that they were able to find the site.”
Gagnier said the only discernable piece of wreckage was the rear of the plane.
“Mostly, just the tail section, which is were the (transmitter) is located. The National Transportation Safety Board officials got right over the signal and found it,” Gagnier said.
Gagnier said aeronautical officials from the air recorded crash-site coordinates to ground search crews who then were able to reach the wreckage. An NTSB investigation of the crash will commence today.
Family Arrives
On Wednesday evening Douglas' wife, Stephanie Jordan, 54, and Douglas’ mother, Helen Douglas, arrived in Libby. Douglas has a daughter, Paige, 11.
The Beechcraft has a long history of air safety.
According to an aeronautical website, the Beechcraft is one of the more reliable planes in use today. The site said a Beechcraft has not been involved in a crash in the U.S. since 1990. “The King Air fleet has posted one of the best safety records of any business airplane,” the website states.
Douglas, who was a Florence, Ariz., city councilman, has been president and CEO of Stinger Welding, Inc., a bridge- and span-building company, since its founding in July 1996.
Steve Patrick, the Stinger vice president of Montana operations, was asked for a statement Thursday, and Patrick declined. He said the company would make a statement after Christmas.
http://www.thewesternnews.com
LIBBY — Two people are believed to have died in a plane crash in northwestern Montana, authorities said Wednesday. Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary reports are that a twin-engine Beech King Air 100 was discovered Wednesday about three miles north of Libby. The plane crashed Tuesday night, he said.
Local authorities reported that the two people on board were killed, Kenitzer said. Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe told The Western News (http://bit.ly/TZNnQq) that rescuers concentrated their search in the Swede Mountain area, where the plane’s GPS beacon was last reported. The FAA and the NTSB were investigating. Additional information, including the plane’s registered owner and possible identities of those aboard, could not immediately be confirmed.
Heavy snow hampered the search Wednesday. Shannon Myslicki lives below the 4,295 elevation mountain, which rises nearly 1,700 feet above the Libby Airport. The airport is at 2,601 feet elevation.
“Usually, it’s trucks out on the road, but this was a plane,” Myslicki told The Western News of seeing lights in the sky around midnight Tuesday. “It was low. We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport.”
A Facebook post from The Western News says Douglas' plane was found in William's Gulch, on top of Swede Mountain, with an intact tail section but otherwise very damaged.
UPDATE: 5:49 p.m. The plane was located in William's Gulch, on top of Swede Mountain. The tail section of the plane, which housed the transmitter, was intact. The rest of the plane was heavily damaged. No confirmation of bodies have been made.
UPDATE: 6:08 p.m. Libby Airport Manager Jaime Gagnier, went up in a small craft with Bill Caldwell of Kootenai Aviation on Wednesday afternoon but could not locate the wreckage because of heavy snowfall. National Transportation Safety Board officials worked with Search and Rescue to find the wreckage. At this time, there are believed to be no survivors.
Carl Douglas, CEO of Stinger Welding Inc., piloting his private aircraft, is believed to be lost on a mountainside near Libby.
Douglas and one other person were believed to be on board.
According to David Thompson Search & Rescue officials, the plane's GPS beacon was last monitored at 5,900 feet late Tuesday evening at a location three miles southeast of Champion Haul Road.
The plane, a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air, capable of 325 knots, was due to arrive at Libby Area Airport later Tuesday evening, but did not arrive.
Stinger officials, expecting Douglas for a meeting Wednesday morning, initially suspected his car had gone off the road after arriving at the airport.
However, when they contacted the airport, Douglas' plane was not in the hangar, and that initiated the search.
Reportedly, law officials heard a plane circling above the Libby clay banks, but no plane landed at the airport during the night.
Shannon Myslicki, of 232 Pinewood Lane which is located below Swede Mountain, said she turned her television off at midnight Tuesday and heard the plane right over her house.
“I just let the dogs out, and I hear this loud noise and then I see the lights,” Myslicki said referring to aircraft lights. “Usually, it’s trucks out on the road, but this was a plane. It was low. We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport.”
Rescue workers, who began their search where the GPS beacon last reported, moved their search later Wednesday, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe.
"We have been up in the Swede Mountain area. We fanned out, but we are going to regroup. We are still looking and chasing down that beacon,” Bowe said.
Stinger is a bridge and span builder that has a manufacturing branch in Libby.
Douglas has been President and CEO of Stinger since its founding in July 1996.
Stinger Welding was given $17 million from an economic development group to help expand to Libby in July 2011. It had been hit with a federal tax lien recently.
Edit: 4:52 p.m., a message was left with Stinger's corporate headquarters in Coolidge, Ariz. It had not been returned.
The Western News will continue to update our readers on the story.
LIBBY - Wednesday night, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department announced finding a downed aircraft and the body of Carl Douglas, owner and CEO of Stinger Welding, one of the area's largest employers. The wreck also claimed the life of an employee, John Smith.
The news has shocked the Libby community.
According to a press release issued by Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe, Douglas was piloting his small private plane, along with passenger John Smith, a company driver. It went missing around midnight on Tuesday, after failing to arrive as scheduled.
Late Wednesday night, Searchers finally located a large debris field about three miles northeast of the Libby Airport.
Libby Airport boardmember Ron Denowh says Douglas was an excellent pilot and good friend.
"It's bad for me, it's worse for his family and it's really bad for Libby, because he was our only- the one and only industry we had here."
Stinger Welding has declined several requests to comment publicly about the accident.
LIBBY, MT - The CEO of an Arizona-based bridge manufacturing company and one of his employees were killed in a plane crash as they flew to northwestern Montana for a company Christmas party.
Stinger Welding Inc. CEO Carl Douglas, of Coolidge, Ariz., and John Smith, also of Coolidge, died in the crash late Tuesday or early Wednesday near Libby, Sheriff Roby Bowe said in a statement.
The men left Coolidge at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday with Douglas piloting the twin-engine Beechcraft, Bowe said. They were to arrive just after midnight in Libby, where Stinger has a bridge- and span-building operation. The men were traveling to Libby for a company Christmas party on Friday, Stinger employees told The Western News.
Colleagues reported the men missing shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday. A Montana Aeronautics airplane was able to locate the plane's emergency locator transmitter signal near Swede Mountain, about three miles northeast of the Libby airport. Search and rescue crews reached the site at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Bowe said.
The sheriff's office and county coroner were recovering the men's remains, Bowe said.
Shannon Myslicki, who lives below Swede Mountain, said she saw lights in the sky around midnight Tuesday.
"It was low," she told The Western News. "We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 499SW Make/Model: BE10 Description: 100 KING AIR (U-21F UTE)
Date: 12/19/2012 Time: 0702
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Fatal Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Destroyed
LOCATION
City: LIBBY State: MT Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCES, THE 2 PERSONS ON BOARD WERE
FATALLY INJURED, SUBJECT OF AN ALERT NOTICE, WRECKAGE LOCATED 3 MILES FROM
LIBBY, MT
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 2
# Crew: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 1 Fat: 1 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Unknown Phase: Unknown Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: HELENA, MT (NM05) Entry date: 12/20/2012
Carl J. Douglas
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department
The Western News
Carl Douglas was a risk-taker who never ran from a challenge,
built a multi-million company from scratch and loved to fly airplanes.
But he lost his life when those traits collided during a snowstorm in
the middle of the night at 4,200 feet.
Douglas, 54, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon after local authorities discovered the wreckage of his turbo-prop airplane high atop Swede Mountain southeast of Libby. John Smith, 43, a passenger in the plane also died in the crash.
The two men were travelling from Coolidge, Ariz., to Libby for a business meeting Wednesday at Stinger Welding, where Douglas was the CEO and Smith was an employee.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Douglas’ friends and family, who described him as an outgoing, ambitious man who always followed his dreams.
“He was a big dreamer, and he was a leader,” said Linda Reid, Douglas sister. “But because of those dreams, he always went after them. He never let things stop him, even weather conditions. And everyone in the family knows he was pushing it because he had a meeting on Friday.
“He broke the cardinal rule: There are old pilots and bold pilots, but you never hear about any old, bold pilots.”
Douglas grew up with three sisters and a younger brother in Florence, Ariz. He joined his father in the construction industry when he was in high school and later founded a series of businesses in construction, bridge-building and welding.
He made a small fortune by building bridges across the network of interstates that pass through Phoenix and other metro areas in the Southwest. And he helped rebuild the Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area after an explosion caused two levels of the bridge to collapse in 2009.
His most recent venture was opening a branch office in Libby for Stinger Welding, which is based in Coolidge, Ariz., near his hometown of Florence. The branch office, which opened in 2009, became one of Libby’s larger employers almost overnight.
The Stinger branch in Libby was heavily subsidized by government grants intended to promote economic development. It ran into financial trouble this year when bills piled up and contracts dried up.
Douglas’ family said his intentions to help the Libby community by creating jobs and a sustainable business were overshadowed by Stinger’s financial trouble.
“I know he wasn’t perfect. Nobody is,” said Debbie Holyoak, another one of Douglas’ sisters. “But he was a good man who always had a smile on his face and always tried to help people. I don’t know what possessed him to start the business in Montana, but it was needed and he wanted to help the community.”
Susan Lamb, another one of Douglas’ sisters, said her brother was an entrepreneur who worked hard for what he had. Her parents, she said, had little money while she and her siblings were growing up.
“He was a hard worker who loved his job,” Lamb said. “He wasn’t a guy who just sat and pushed a pencil or something. He was always on the job, at the site.”
While in high school, Douglas stood out as someone determined to succeed. A natural leader, he was elected president of the class of 1977 at Florence High School.
During his senior year, he orchestrated a student walk-out in protest of his principal’s decision to punish a volleyball coach for allowing college volleyball players to practice with the high school team, a violation of the athletic conference’s rules.
“Almost every kid in that school walked out that day, and he’s the one who led the protest,” said Holyoak, who graduated in the same class as Douglas. “He had talent. He was a leader.”
Douglas parlayed his leadership skills into a seat on the Florence City Council. He served as a councilman from 1986-1990.
Tom Rankin, the mayor of Florence, said he has known Douglas’ family for decades.
“He was a little bit younger than me, but we have worked together,” Rankin said. “He gave to a lot of organizations, and he didn’t go out and look for publicity. He was behind the scenes.”
Mike Hatch, who said he was Douglas’ best friend when they were kids, remembers taking rides in a small plane owned by Douglas’ father. Even then, Douglas enjoyed adventure and, specifically, flying.
“He was either going full blast or he wasn’t going,” Hatch said. “It was no surprise that he got his pilot license. He loved to fly, and he’s been doing it for more than 20 years.”
Douglas used his plane to travel between his homes in Arizona, Montana and Mexico. He often took friends and family on fishing excursions off the Mexican coast.
“He always treated my kids so well, all seven of them,” Holyoak said. “He took all of them to Mexico and would go camping with them. They all loved him so much.”
To his family, Douglas was known almost exclusively as “Joe.” His mother gave him the nickname after watching episodes of the TV series “Bonanza,” starring Michael Landon as “Little Joe.”
Reid said her children will always remember drinking slushes that their “Uncle Joe” made them whenever they would visit. She said he “probably wore out several blenders making slushes for the kids.”
“He was very kind and gentle person,” Reid said. “But, like most men, he wore a suit of armor. You wouldn’t know he had a kind tender heart.”
Douglas married late in life, and he treated his nieces and nephews like his own children, his sisters said.
Douglas left behind a wife, Stephanie Jordan, and an 11-year-old daughter, Paige.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Dec. 27 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Florence.
Reid said her brother may have been only 54 years old, but he lived enough life to fill 108 years.
“You only live once. But if you do it right, that’s enough.” Holyoak said. “He died doing what he loved to do. He loved to fly.”
Source: http://www.thewesternnews.com
Douglas, 54, was pronounced dead Thursday afternoon after local authorities discovered the wreckage of his turbo-prop airplane high atop Swede Mountain southeast of Libby. John Smith, 43, a passenger in the plane also died in the crash.
The two men were travelling from Coolidge, Ariz., to Libby for a business meeting Wednesday at Stinger Welding, where Douglas was the CEO and Smith was an employee.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Douglas’ friends and family, who described him as an outgoing, ambitious man who always followed his dreams.
“He was a big dreamer, and he was a leader,” said Linda Reid, Douglas sister. “But because of those dreams, he always went after them. He never let things stop him, even weather conditions. And everyone in the family knows he was pushing it because he had a meeting on Friday.
“He broke the cardinal rule: There are old pilots and bold pilots, but you never hear about any old, bold pilots.”
Douglas grew up with three sisters and a younger brother in Florence, Ariz. He joined his father in the construction industry when he was in high school and later founded a series of businesses in construction, bridge-building and welding.
He made a small fortune by building bridges across the network of interstates that pass through Phoenix and other metro areas in the Southwest. And he helped rebuild the Bay Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area after an explosion caused two levels of the bridge to collapse in 2009.
His most recent venture was opening a branch office in Libby for Stinger Welding, which is based in Coolidge, Ariz., near his hometown of Florence. The branch office, which opened in 2009, became one of Libby’s larger employers almost overnight.
The Stinger branch in Libby was heavily subsidized by government grants intended to promote economic development. It ran into financial trouble this year when bills piled up and contracts dried up.
Douglas’ family said his intentions to help the Libby community by creating jobs and a sustainable business were overshadowed by Stinger’s financial trouble.
“I know he wasn’t perfect. Nobody is,” said Debbie Holyoak, another one of Douglas’ sisters. “But he was a good man who always had a smile on his face and always tried to help people. I don’t know what possessed him to start the business in Montana, but it was needed and he wanted to help the community.”
Susan Lamb, another one of Douglas’ sisters, said her brother was an entrepreneur who worked hard for what he had. Her parents, she said, had little money while she and her siblings were growing up.
“He was a hard worker who loved his job,” Lamb said. “He wasn’t a guy who just sat and pushed a pencil or something. He was always on the job, at the site.”
While in high school, Douglas stood out as someone determined to succeed. A natural leader, he was elected president of the class of 1977 at Florence High School.
During his senior year, he orchestrated a student walk-out in protest of his principal’s decision to punish a volleyball coach for allowing college volleyball players to practice with the high school team, a violation of the athletic conference’s rules.
“Almost every kid in that school walked out that day, and he’s the one who led the protest,” said Holyoak, who graduated in the same class as Douglas. “He had talent. He was a leader.”
Douglas parlayed his leadership skills into a seat on the Florence City Council. He served as a councilman from 1986-1990.
Tom Rankin, the mayor of Florence, said he has known Douglas’ family for decades.
“He was a little bit younger than me, but we have worked together,” Rankin said. “He gave to a lot of organizations, and he didn’t go out and look for publicity. He was behind the scenes.”
Mike Hatch, who said he was Douglas’ best friend when they were kids, remembers taking rides in a small plane owned by Douglas’ father. Even then, Douglas enjoyed adventure and, specifically, flying.
“He was either going full blast or he wasn’t going,” Hatch said. “It was no surprise that he got his pilot license. He loved to fly, and he’s been doing it for more than 20 years.”
Douglas used his plane to travel between his homes in Arizona, Montana and Mexico. He often took friends and family on fishing excursions off the Mexican coast.
“He always treated my kids so well, all seven of them,” Holyoak said. “He took all of them to Mexico and would go camping with them. They all loved him so much.”
To his family, Douglas was known almost exclusively as “Joe.” His mother gave him the nickname after watching episodes of the TV series “Bonanza,” starring Michael Landon as “Little Joe.”
Reid said her children will always remember drinking slushes that their “Uncle Joe” made them whenever they would visit. She said he “probably wore out several blenders making slushes for the kids.”
“He was very kind and gentle person,” Reid said. “But, like most men, he wore a suit of armor. You wouldn’t know he had a kind tender heart.”
Douglas married late in life, and he treated his nieces and nephews like his own children, his sisters said.
Douglas left behind a wife, Stephanie Jordan, and an 11-year-old daughter, Paige.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Dec. 27 at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Florence.
Reid said her brother may have been only 54 years old, but he lived enough life to fill 108 years.
“You only live once. But if you do it right, that’s enough.” Holyoak said. “He died doing what he loved to do. He loved to fly.”
Source: http://www.thewesternnews.com
Libby Police Officer Darren Short saw Carl J. Douglas’ Beechcraft King Air drop below the clouds, maneuver a tight circle just above Town Pump and head south toward Libby Airport.
The plane’s low-banking curve and then disappearance into the night sky urged Short to drive to Libby Airport to investigate.
“I would guess that would be the case,” Short said, thinking Douglas was looking for familiar bearings. After seeing the plane about 12:10 a.m. Wednesday, Short drove to the airport.
“I got there and the (rotating) beacon was on but not the airport runway lights. “Those are activated by the pilot, so I don’t know if they came on but went out when I got there or what,” Short said.
Douglas, 54, the CEO of Stinger Welding, Inc., and his passenger, fellow Stinger employee John Smith, 43, never made it to the airport. The two men died minutes later Wednesday morning when Douglas crashed his twin-engine, turbo-prop Beechcraft into the darkness of Swede Mountain just three miles northeast of Libby Airport.
Circling Above
Short’s report of a pilot desperately trying to find Libby’s airstrip in the dark during a snowstorm was echoed by Shannon Myslicki, who lives at 232 Pinewood Lane just below Swede Mountain.
“I just let the dogs out, and I hear this loud noise and then I see the lights,” Myslicki said referring to aircraft landing-gear lights. “Usually, it’s trucks out on the road, but this was a plane. It was low. We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport.”
The time of the crash is estimated to be just after midnight, early Wednesday morning, Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said.
“At the time of the crash, the (airport) lights were not on,” Bowe said Wednesday evening, briefing the local press.
Bowe said the plane left Coolidge, Ariz., about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday and the craft was expected to land at Libby Airport about 3½ hours later.
Search Begins
According to Libby Airport Board Chairman Ron Denowh, Douglas canceled his flight plan as he approached Libby Airport, something pilots often do when they are in the final throes of a flight.
“It’s just easier for them to do it from the air, as they’re wrapping up,” Denowh said.
However, about 11 hours later — at 11:12 a.m. Wednesday — Steve Patrick, vice president of Montana operations for Stinger Welding, called the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department to report the plane never arrived.
Reportedly, Stinger officials began a search for Douglas and Smith on Wednesday morning along the roads Douglas would have traveled to his home in the Yaak. When that search proved fruitless, they searched for his plane in a hangar at Libby Airport. In its absence, Stinger officials notified the Sheriff’s Department, which initiated the search.
The wreckage of the plane that carried Douglas and Smith, both from Coolidge, Ariz., was found about 8 p.m. Wednesday in the William’s Gulch area of Swede Mountain, very near the summit of 4,295 feet.
Former Lincoln County Commissioner John Konzen said he was told by officials at the scene that it looked like Douglas was trying to maneuver away from the mountain.
“It looked like he was banking and trying to turn toward the airport and didn’t make it,” Konzen said.
On Thursday, Bowe and other David Thompson Search & Rescue officials returned to the crash site as snow continued to fall in the Libby. Rescue personnel Thursday were accompanied by search dogs.
Retrieving Bodies
A statement from the Sheriff’s Department said officials were successful in retrieving the bodies of the two men. County Coroner Steve Schnackenberg was transporting the bodies to the Montana Crime Lab in Missoula for autopsies.
Bowe described the debris field as extensive and scattered.
“It was pretty close to the top,” Bowe said of the crash site, which could only be reached with the aid of snowmobiles. About 25 people assisted in the search, five of whom were from the Sheriff’s Department and the balance from David Thompson Search & Rescue and Montana Aeronautics, a Helena-based group that assists with locating plane crashes.
On Thursday, The Western News attempted to charter a flight to photograph the crash site, but inclement weather grounded Bill Caldwell, owner of Kootenai Aviation.
Bowe said the debris field was on the southern slope of the mountain, which is 2.9 miles from Libby. He said in the twilight of the day Wednesday he could not determine whether the plane crashed uphill or down.
Based on last-known radar data, officials began their search in an area just off Champion Haul Road. Libby Volunteer Ambulance, David Thompson Search & Rescue, and concerned Stinger employees gathered about a mile from Libby on the Haul Road as searchers scanned an area northeast of that location. It was there that officials recorded the final electronic beacon at an elevation of 5,900 feet. When those efforts revealed nothing, searchers moved toward the airport and in line with Swede Mountain.
Savvy Pilot
Denowh had come to know Douglas well, and he said Douglas was an accomplished pilot.
“He’d flown into Libby hundreds of times from Arizona,” Denowh said. “In 2011, logbooks indicate he’s flown into Libby 110 times, sometimes two or three times a day.”
“I can tell you this: The rotating beacon works. It was on,” Denowh said, trying to clear any confusion about airport lighting. “(The rotating beacon) comes automatically at dusk and goes off at sunrise.”
The runway lights, Denowh confirmed, are activated by the pilot as he approaches the airport.
Denowh admitted recently one of the lights on the beacon was out, but that it was quickly replaced. He also said the airport is transitioning between managers, and no one was at the airport Tuesday night had Douglas tried to call as he experienced problems locating the airstrip.
It was snowing heavily Tuesday night. Six inches fell during a 24-hour period.
“It’s just very likely (Douglas) couldn’t see the airport for the snow,” Denowh said.
Mike Noble, of rural Libby, drove past the Libby Airport just after midnight — early Wednesday — and said the airport was aflood with lights.
“I thought it odd that someone would be coming in at that hour, but the place was all lit up,” Noble said.
Short, the Libby patrolman who saw Douglas’ plane bank over Town Pump, said it looked as though “Douglas just got lost in the clouds.”
Douglas, who often flew his Beechcraft from Arizona to Libby, was scheduled for a Wednesday morning business meeting at the Libby Stinger offices. A Stinger employee Christmas party was scheduled for today.
According to incoming Airport Manager Jaime Gagnier, who searched for the crash site Wednesday from the air, said there was little remaining of the plane.
“We went up there, and we were right over the crash site and couldn’t see it because the plane is white with all the snow,” Gagnier said. “Bill and I and his wife, apparently, were right over it and couldn’t find it. It wasn’t until guys came in with the (electronic) locator to pinpoint the beacon that they were able to find the site.”
Gagnier said the only discernable piece of wreckage was the rear of the plane.
“Mostly, just the tail section, which is were the (transmitter) is located. The National Transportation Safety Board officials got right over the signal and found it,” Gagnier said.
Gagnier said aeronautical officials from the air recorded crash-site coordinates to ground search crews who then were able to reach the wreckage. An NTSB investigation of the crash will commence today.
Family Arrives
On Wednesday evening Douglas' wife, Stephanie Jordan, 54, and Douglas’ mother, Helen Douglas, arrived in Libby. Douglas has a daughter, Paige, 11.
The Beechcraft has a long history of air safety.
According to an aeronautical website, the Beechcraft is one of the more reliable planes in use today. The site said a Beechcraft has not been involved in a crash in the U.S. since 1990. “The King Air fleet has posted one of the best safety records of any business airplane,” the website states.
Douglas, who was a Florence, Ariz., city councilman, has been president and CEO of Stinger Welding, Inc., a bridge- and span-building company, since its founding in July 1996.
Steve Patrick, the Stinger vice president of Montana operations, was asked for a statement Thursday, and Patrick declined. He said the company would make a statement after Christmas.
http://www.thewesternnews.com
LIBBY — Two people are believed to have died in a plane crash in northwestern Montana, authorities said Wednesday. Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration said preliminary reports are that a twin-engine Beech King Air 100 was discovered Wednesday about three miles north of Libby. The plane crashed Tuesday night, he said.
Local authorities reported that the two people on board were killed, Kenitzer said. Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe told The Western News (http://bit.ly/TZNnQq) that rescuers concentrated their search in the Swede Mountain area, where the plane’s GPS beacon was last reported. The FAA and the NTSB were investigating. Additional information, including the plane’s registered owner and possible identities of those aboard, could not immediately be confirmed.
Heavy snow hampered the search Wednesday. Shannon Myslicki lives below the 4,295 elevation mountain, which rises nearly 1,700 feet above the Libby Airport. The airport is at 2,601 feet elevation.
“Usually, it’s trucks out on the road, but this was a plane,” Myslicki told The Western News of seeing lights in the sky around midnight Tuesday. “It was low. We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport.”
A Facebook post from The Western News says Douglas' plane was found in William's Gulch, on top of Swede Mountain, with an intact tail section but otherwise very damaged.
UPDATE: 5:49 p.m. The plane was located in William's Gulch, on top of Swede Mountain. The tail section of the plane, which housed the transmitter, was intact. The rest of the plane was heavily damaged. No confirmation of bodies have been made.
UPDATE: 6:08 p.m. Libby Airport Manager Jaime Gagnier, went up in a small craft with Bill Caldwell of Kootenai Aviation on Wednesday afternoon but could not locate the wreckage because of heavy snowfall. National Transportation Safety Board officials worked with Search and Rescue to find the wreckage. At this time, there are believed to be no survivors.
Carl Douglas, CEO of Stinger Welding Inc., piloting his private aircraft, is believed to be lost on a mountainside near Libby.
Douglas and one other person were believed to be on board.
According to David Thompson Search & Rescue officials, the plane's GPS beacon was last monitored at 5,900 feet late Tuesday evening at a location three miles southeast of Champion Haul Road.
The plane, a twin-engine Beechcraft King Air, capable of 325 knots, was due to arrive at Libby Area Airport later Tuesday evening, but did not arrive.
Stinger officials, expecting Douglas for a meeting Wednesday morning, initially suspected his car had gone off the road after arriving at the airport.
However, when they contacted the airport, Douglas' plane was not in the hangar, and that initiated the search.
Reportedly, law officials heard a plane circling above the Libby clay banks, but no plane landed at the airport during the night.
Shannon Myslicki, of 232 Pinewood Lane which is located below Swede Mountain, said she turned her television off at midnight Tuesday and heard the plane right over her house.
“I just let the dogs out, and I hear this loud noise and then I see the lights,” Myslicki said referring to aircraft lights. “Usually, it’s trucks out on the road, but this was a plane. It was low. We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport.”
Rescue workers, who began their search where the GPS beacon last reported, moved their search later Wednesday, according to Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe.
"We have been up in the Swede Mountain area. We fanned out, but we are going to regroup. We are still looking and chasing down that beacon,” Bowe said.
Stinger is a bridge and span builder that has a manufacturing branch in Libby.
Douglas has been President and CEO of Stinger since its founding in July 1996.
Stinger Welding was given $17 million from an economic development group to help expand to Libby in July 2011. It had been hit with a federal tax lien recently.
Edit: 4:52 p.m., a message was left with Stinger's corporate headquarters in Coolidge, Ariz. It had not been returned.
The Western News will continue to update our readers on the story.
LIBBY - Wednesday night, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department announced finding a downed aircraft and the body of Carl Douglas, owner and CEO of Stinger Welding, one of the area's largest employers. The wreck also claimed the life of an employee, John Smith.
The news has shocked the Libby community.
According to a press release issued by Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe, Douglas was piloting his small private plane, along with passenger John Smith, a company driver. It went missing around midnight on Tuesday, after failing to arrive as scheduled.
Late Wednesday night, Searchers finally located a large debris field about three miles northeast of the Libby Airport.
Libby Airport boardmember Ron Denowh says Douglas was an excellent pilot and good friend.
"It's bad for me, it's worse for his family and it's really bad for Libby, because he was our only- the one and only industry we had here."
Stinger Welding has declined several requests to comment publicly about the accident.
LIBBY, MT - The CEO of an Arizona-based bridge manufacturing company and one of his employees were killed in a plane crash as they flew to northwestern Montana for a company Christmas party.
Stinger Welding Inc. CEO Carl Douglas, of Coolidge, Ariz., and John Smith, also of Coolidge, died in the crash late Tuesday or early Wednesday near Libby, Sheriff Roby Bowe said in a statement.
The men left Coolidge at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday with Douglas piloting the twin-engine Beechcraft, Bowe said. They were to arrive just after midnight in Libby, where Stinger has a bridge- and span-building operation. The men were traveling to Libby for a company Christmas party on Friday, Stinger employees told The Western News.
Colleagues reported the men missing shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday. A Montana Aeronautics airplane was able to locate the plane's emergency locator transmitter signal near Swede Mountain, about three miles northeast of the Libby airport. Search and rescue crews reached the site at about 8 p.m. Wednesday, Bowe said.
The sheriff's office and county coroner were recovering the men's remains, Bowe said.
Shannon Myslicki, who lives below Swede Mountain, said she saw lights in the sky around midnight Tuesday.
"It was low," she told The Western News. "We heard it once and then heard it again later. It sounded like it was closer to Swede Mountain to the left, rather than the airport."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.
