Plane crash kills Whitefish man

Northwest Montana News Network

A plane crash on the ice of the Hungry Horse Reservoir killed a 50-year-old Whitefish veterinarian on his birthday, April 1.

Rescuers discovered the body of Hugh Rogers last Thursday, after a satellite picked up a signal from an emergency locator transmitter the previous afternoon.

Authorities removed the wreckage of Rogers' 1967 Maule M4 single engine plane from the ice with a helicopter over the weekend.

The crash occured about 35 miles south of Hungry Horse Dam, nearly due east of Bigfork across the Swan Mountains.

A Federal Aviation Administration preliminary report states that the plane "crashed under unknown circumstances," and left a debris field approximately 240 feet long, according to Sheriff's Deputy Jordan White, Flathead County Search and Rescue coordinator.

White said the plane's wreckage was pointed north. It appears the plane descended onto the ice before skidding and coming to rest about 35 miles south of Hungry Horse Dam.

"The fuselage was crushed, the wings were both badly damaged," White said. "The tail section was the only portion still intact."

The plane, which stayed upright, still had fuel on board and did not burn, White said.

Rescue personnel on snowmobiles with North Valley Search and Rescue and Flathead County Search and Rescue found the wreckage at about 12:30 a.m. Thursday.

Despite strong winds, snow and poor visibility, rescuers found the aircraft on their second pass, White said.

Four search-and-rescue members stayed overnight with Rogers' body, which was removed from the crash site Thursday afternoon. The body has been taken to the state crime lab in Missoula for an autopsy, Flathead County Undersheriff Pete Wingert said.

Jeanne MacPherson of the State Aeronautics Division has said she did not believe Rogers made a distress call before going down.

The Maule M-4 is a bush plane designed for rugged or unimproved environments. Rogers, an experienced pilot, has run Alpine Animal Hospital in Whitefish since 1997.

Services for Rogers are at 1 p.m. April 11 at Christ Lutheran Church in Whitefish.