Six bodies recovered

Federal investigators arrive to try to determine cause of mid-air collision over Lake Coeur d’Alene

COEUR d’ALENE — There was no indication of engine trouble, or signs of last-second evasive action, before two planes collided Sunday afternoon.

Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Ryan Higgins said they have interviewed many witnesses and hope to speak with more about the crash above Lake Coeur d’Alene that claimed eight lives. They are asking anyone who might have videos or pictures of the planes to contact the KCSO.

Meanwhile, officials with the National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration have arrived to take over the investigation into the cause of the crash.

Kootenai County divers and a sonar team, with assistance from some technical rescue divers, recovered three more victims on Monday. The total recovered so far is six occupants.

Higgins said Tuesday the remaining two bodies are believed to be within a 500-yard radius of the crash site near Powderhorn Bay and Black Bay. Both planes and debris are about 125 feet down into the water.

Windy conditions hampered Tuesday’s recovery efforts, but he said they are doing their best to find the victims. He said the recovery process will be complicated and take time.

“The No. 1 goal that the sheriff’s department has right now is to find the last remaining victims, bring some closure to the families,” he said.

Higgins said they have located the seaplane and believe they have found the Cessna a short distance away.

Investigators are reviewing video footage of the underwater scene.

“There’s a chance the planes could be intermingled,” he said.

A charter plane carrying five passengers and a pilot from Brooks Seaplane Service — stationed near City Beach along downtown Coeur d’Alene’s waterfront — collided with another aircraft carrying a pilot and one passenger around 2:20 p.m.

The Cessna had taken off earlier from Felts Field in Spokane.

Witnesses described a fireball in the sky before both planes crashed into the water between Powderhorn Bay and Black Bay and sank quickly.

Witnesses said the planes were headed toward each other when they collided in clear skies, Higgins said.

Both aircraft were fixed-wing single-engine planes.

While authorities have not yet positively identified any of the bodies, investigators have determined the identities of five of the six people onboard the Brooks aircraft.

Neil Lunt, 58, of Liberty Lake was piloting the seaplane occupied by Sean Fredrickson, 48, of Lake Oswego, Ore. A 16-year-old girl, a 16-year-old boy and an 11-year-old boy were also identified as passengers; the Sheriff’s Office would not disclose the names of the juveniles but said all three kids were Fredrickson’s children and stepchildren.

There was another male on the plane who has been identified.

The two occupants of the Cessna have been identified, but their names are being withheld.

Lunt was a retired commercial pilot with SkyWest Airlines based out of Los Angeles International Airport. He recently bought the Brooks Seaplane business.

The aircraft that collided with the 1956 Brooks Seaplane was a Cessna 206 registered to Echo Rental in Lewiston.

Two victims were recovered at the scene shortly after the accident by boaters who responded to help. A third victim was recovered from the lake floor by the sonar team and dive team using a Remote Operated Vehicle.

Once the bodies are recovered, the focus will turn to a salvage operation, perhaps by the week’s end.

Higgins said boaters have been good about avoiding the crash site. He said Sun-up Bay Boat Launch remains closed.

Higgins said there has not been fuel or oil leaking from the crash. The sheen of fuel that was on the surface of the lake after the crash has dissipated.

When the salvage operation begins, booms will be set up to catch any fuel.