No survivors in Hope plane crash

HOPE — No survivors were found Thursday among the wreckage of an airplane that crash landed in the Cabinet Mountains near Lake Pend Oreille.

It was not immediately clear late Thursday when the plane was thought to have crashed. Bonner County sheriff's officials said they were notified of a possibly missing plane at approximately 9:35 a.m.

Sheriff's officials coordinated with emergency responders who specialize in locating downed aircraft. A crash site and debris field was located on the south side of Round Top Mountain at approximately 2:30 p.m.

The crash site is located in rugged terrain accessible via U.S. Forest Service roads in the Lightning Creek and Trestle Creek drainages. A hiking trail leads to the summit of 6,149-foot Round Top Mountain, although it was not immediately clear if searchers utilized it to reach the crash scene.

Searchers reached the scene shortly before 6 p.m., according to a Bonner EMS run report. Two people were found dead at the scene and a search was on for a third person believed to have also been in the aircraft.

Suspected identities of the crash victims began circulating late Thursday, but they could not be confirmed through sheriff's officials. They said the names were being withheld pending the notification of family.

Sheriff's officials said in a news release that the Federal Aviation Administration has been contacted and the National Transportation Safety Board will be the lead investigating agency.

The downed plane was identified as a Cessna 182 fixed-wing aircraft.

Preliminary reports on the crash had not yet been posted to the NTSB or Aviation Safety Network websites as of Thursday night.