Board pondering replacement of localizer/DME

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are scheduled to take up on Tuesday the matter of replacing navigation equipment that was damaged when a Utah pilot recently crashed at Sandpoint Airport.

An antenna array which served the airport’s distance-measuring equipment was destroyed when the plane crashed off the north end of the runway on Sept. 23.

Airport Manager Dave Schuck said installing a replacement system would cost about $267,000, but that system has grown obsolete. Moreover, the positioning of hangars at the airport interferes with its accuracy.

“We’re looking for an improved system,” Schuck said on Friday.

However, an improved system is expected to increase the replacement cost to about $367,000, according to Schuck.

The pilot who was at the controls during the crash, Donald Moss Muirhead, is charged with flying under the influence of drugs, a misdemeanor. Muirhead, a 55-year-old from Orem, pleaded not guilty, setting the stage for a Dec. 19 jury trial in Bonner County Magistrate Court.

Muirhead denied being under the influence, although he did admit to being prescribed Seroquel and Lexapro, which are antidepressants.

Neither Muirhead nor his two passengers were injured in the 8:30 p.m. crash.

Eyewitness statements given to Sandpoint Police suggested Muirhead approached the landing with too much speed and touched down too late on the runway.

One of the passengers advised police that he said a prayer as they landed because he was concerned they were going to crash, according to court documents.

Both passengers, the police report said, indicated that Muirhead “was not acting his normal self” on the day of the crash. The manager of the airport’s fixed-base operations told Sandpoint Police Muirhead had flown into the on prior occasions without trouble, although his demeanor was “a little bit slower” on the day of the crash.

A Breathalyzer test of Muirhead did not detect the presence of alcohol in his system, court records show. A Bonner County sheriff’s deputy certified as a drug-recognition expert determined Muirhead was under the influence of an intoxicating substance.

In a brief written statement to police, Muirhead said he “landed long” and had no brakes when he went off the runway.