Plane Crash Found on Twin Sisters Mountain

Whatcom County, Washington:  The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office says a plane has been found crashed into the side of “Twin Sisters Mountain” about 10 miles east of Acme,  in Washington State.

According to the WSDOT and the Whatcom County Sheriff, there is a large debris field in a remote area where the plane was found.  WSDOT confirmed that the plane is the one that is  missing plane from Minnesota. The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office, did not immediately confirm the crash site is the same plane. WSDOT has turned the Search/Recovery efforts over to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office.

The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Released this statement on their Facebook Page:

AIRCRAFT CRASH SITE

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) initiated a search for a private aircraft that was traveling to Orcas Island from Minnesota with two passengers aboard. The aircraft never arrived on Saturday as scheduled. The aircraft was reported missing to the Washington State Department of Transportation on Tuesday evening. Shortly after 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday (July 15th, 2015), the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Civil Air Patrol initiated a search and located an aircraft crash site on Twin Sisters Mountain in Whatcom County (approximately 10 miles east of Acme).

The incident was turned over to the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office for recovery efforts. Aerial photographs of the site provided by WSOT indicate that debris is spread over a large area and show no signs of human life.

The crash site is in a remote wilderness area with rugged terrain. Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office deputies are analyzing the photographs and assessing how the site might best be safely accessed. Sheriff’s Office deputies will be coordinating recovery efforts with Whatcom Search and Rescue.

At this point, the identity of the sited aircraft has not been determined and it is not confirmed that it is the same aircraft from Minnesota that was reported missing.

Bill Elfo, Sheriff

A friend, identified the pilot as  Bob (and Gail)  Nevalainen, of Ray, Minnesota. He said they  were expected to make several stops on their trip  to Alaska.

There are  numerous photos on Bob’s Facebook page of different places he has flown and he was an experienced pilot.

According to AviationDB.com, he has a valid certificate until February of 2017. 

This is a developing story and will be updated as we learn more.

The Skagit County Sheriff’s Office has taken over the search for a separate plane from Montana that crashed around the same time.  A 16 year old girl, from Bellingham, Washington,  survived that crash and hiked out of the woods for help. Her Step Grandparents died in the crash. Skagit County Search and Rescue crews along with a Skagit County Search and Rescue Deputy  left at 8 am to hike into that remote plane crash site. Details on that story can be found by  Clicking  Here: