5/27/2012
UPDATE: Rescue of downed airplane passengers under way
BOISE - Three passengers who were on a Cessna that crashed in Owyhee County were safely transported to a Boise hospital early Sunday afternoon.
The plane, a 1966 Cessna 172, took off from Sacramento, Calif., for Mountain Home earlier Saturday. It crashed in the Silver City area at about midnight on Saturday night.
After the plane crashed, one of the three passengers onboard used a cell phone to call 9-1-1, and reached the Owyhee County Sheriff's Office early Sunday morning. LifeFlight helicopters searched early Sunday, but had difficulty seeing the terrain as it was still dark.
The Civil Air Patrol was preparing to start searching at daybreak Sunday. At that time, a LifeFlight helicopter spotted the wreckage. It could not land close enough to pick up the passengers because of the terrain.
The three passengers are Brian Brown, Jan Brown, and Heather. Heather's last name and age, as well as the ages of Brian and Jan, weren't known yet Sunday. The passenger who used the cell phone to call 9-1-1 said one of them had minor head and laceration injuries, and the two others suffered back and neck injuries.