Two men killed in plane crash on Swede Mountain
Stinger Welding CEO Carl Douglas, and John Smith perish in plane crash
by Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio
December 20, 2012
Stinger Welding, Inc. CEO Carl Douglas, and John Smith, a Stinger company driver, both died when Douglas's plane crashed Tuesday night, Dec. 18th on Swede Mountain.
The plane was a $3.4 million Beech King Air twin turbo-prop, piloted by Douglas.
The Lincoln County Sheriff's office late Wednesday afternoon told KLCB an aircraft was missing south of Libby. The aircraft reportedly was due to land at the Libby airport at midnight Tuesday, but did not arrive. David Thompson Search and Rescue was searching in the general area of the last known coordinates looking for the plane.
Sheriff's deputies and search and rescue members snowmobiled into the area. Searchers used hand-held Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) to find the site. At 8 PM Wednesday evening searchers located an extensive crash debris field in a remote area south of Swede Mountain, about three miles northeast of the Libby airport. Neither occupant of the aircraft had survived the crash.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) officials were notified. The sheriff's office and county coroner will recover the remains of the deceased bodies as soon as weather permits, and the NTSB will be conducting an investigation as to the cause of the crash.
Weather conditions at the time were a possible factor in the mishap.
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By Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio, e-mail: klcb@frontiernet.net.
Related Links
Searchers look for missing plane - By Duane Williams, KLCB-KTNY Radio, LibbyMT.com, Dec. 19, 2012
Remnants of Stinger CEO's plane found on Swede Mountain - The Western News, Dec. 19, 2012
Stinger CEO believed dead in Libby plane crash - Daily Inter Lake, Dec. 19, 2012
Two dead in plane crash near Libby - KAJ18.com, Dec. 19, 2012
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