1 killed, 1 injured in plane crash in Idaho mountains

CASCADE, Idaho – A small aircraft crashed in the mountains of central Idaho, killing a Boise man and injuring the pilot, authorities said Monday.

David Henderson, 50, died and Andrew D. Akin, 54, of Griffin, Georgia, was injured when their aircraft went down Saturday near the Sulphur Creek Ranch airstrip, according to the Idaho Statesman.

The remote ranch north of Boise is a popular site for hiking, fishing and horseback riding and can only be accessed by air, foot or horseback.

Akin had called 911, but due to the remote, forested location of the crash, it took four hours for a mountain rescue crew from Montana to retrieve him, authorities said.

The circumstances of the crash remained under investigation, and the National Transportation Safety Board has investigators on the way, the Valley County Sheriff’s Office said.

Akin told dispatchers the plane had stalled and he was forced to land it amid trees on a mountainside.

Rescuers first tried to ping Akin’s cellphone to find his location. When that didn’t work, the sheriff’s office used detailed GPS coordinates provided by the U.S. Air Force from an emergency radio beacon on the plane.

A traditional air ambulance wasn’t equipped for the terrain, so sheriff’s officials turned to Two Bear Air out of Whitefish, Montana, which specializes in mountain search and rescue.

A Forest Service helicopter flew over the area and dropped a first aid kit for Akin.

Two Bear Air arrived about an hour later and transported Akin to Cascade, Idaho, where paramedics with a ground ambulance cared for him until an air ambulance picked him up.

Two Bear Air also took a sheriff’s detective to the crash site and helped retrieve Henderson’s body.