Man who died in plane crash not certified to fly plane

PORTLAND – A Portland man who was flying a Cessna Citation 560 that crashed into the Mutton Mountain Range on Warm Springs land last month was not certified to fly that type of aircraft, according to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board.

The preliminary report was released Thursday and is subject to change, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported.

The pilot of the flight that left Troutdale for Boise on Jan. 9 was identified last month by the Warm Springs Police Department as Richard Boehlke, 72.

Boehlke also was likely flying the plane alone for the first time, according to the NTSB report.

The pilot of the downed plane held a private pilot certificate that was rated for the Grumman G-111 Albatross and Learjet, but “FAA records did not indicate that he held a type rating for the Citation 560.”

Boehlke had taken Citation 560 training in 2020 at a training facility in Arizona, the report said. The owner of the facility said the pilot had not performed to a level sufficient to be issued a type rating or single pilot exemption.

The report said Boehlke took off by 1:07 p.m. that day and that a controller alerted Boehlke some 20 minutes later that he was about 30 degrees off course, but Boehlke didn’t respond. A minute later, the plane started to descend and hit the ground.

It could take at least a year for the NTSB to release a final report about Boehlke’s crash.