This Sunday afternoon four out of eight people have been confirmed dead in a plane crash over a scenic mountain lake in northern Idaho. The family of Professional golfer Sean Fredrickson – 40 including his son and two stepkids were killed on their first seaplane ride, along with the pilot, when it crashed.
Oregon residents Fredrickson’s son – Hayden, 16, and stepdaughter Sofie, 16, and Quinn Olsen, 11 were on a floatplane operated for tourists over Lake Coeur d’ Alene. Sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Higgins enquired that the planes collided in the air near Powderhorn Bay about 2:30 pm Sunday.
All eight people on the two planes have been presumed died in the crash as both the planes plunges into the water – the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office said. The second airplane was a Cessna 206 that was carrying a husband and wife. He further said the area is not crowded as it’s used to be –
‘We don’t have any clue what happened,’ Higgins said, other than the planes collided.
The sheriff’s office has identified the pilot of the floatplane as Neil Lunt, 58, of Liberty Lake, Washington. Both planes sank than 125 feet deep into Lake Coeur d’ Alene.
A horrible loss for the Lake Oswego community. Sean Fredrickson’s wife, April, tells me her husband & their 3 children boarded a float plane at Lake Coeur d’Alene yesterday. Their plane & another collided over lake, then sank. 8 people believed to be dead, per @KootenaiSheriff pic.twitter.com/DyA7jkQHHZ
— Brenna Kelly (@BrennaKellyNews) July 6, 2020
April Fredrickson spole on the loss her husband and her children. She said –
“My family died while they were on an adventure. Everyone was so excited to be on that plane…I think that, at the end of the day, they died doing what they loved which was, you know, being together.”
The second plane was registered in Lewiston, Idaho, but it had departed from Felts Field in nearby Spokane, Washington
Sofie and Quinn’s father, Brian Olsen said –
‘Sofie is a golden spirit and kept me striving to be a better parent. Quinn (Q) looked up to his big sister and loved to be included in many memorable sports and experiences.’
The second plane was registered in Lewiston, Idaho – Officials said. Two people on that plane have not been officially identified but named by KHQ as Jay Cawley and his wife Kelly. Mr. Cawley is identified as the sixth person.
A sheriff’s dive team found the wreckage in about 125 feet of water and the bodies of three victims had been recovered as of Monday. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have conducted an investigation into what happened so far and will update on the incident soon.
Boaters flag down authorities to a crashed seaplane near Powderhorn Bay. The downed plane can be seen on the right side of the image
The large and popular Lake Coeur d’ Alene is surrounded by vacation homes. And was busy with boaters on the Fourth of July weekend. Numerous personal boats went to the scene immediately in search of survivors. The sheriff´s marine teams, fire departments, and the U.S. Coast Guard also responded to the matter.
