ABC FOX MT's reporters on scene.
UPDATE: Two passengers die in small plane crash on I-90 Posted: Aug 28, 2016 6:45 PM EST Updated: Aug 28, 2016 8:32 PM EST
By Amanda Roley, Reporter
UPDATE: Sunday, 6:16 p.m.:
Missoula County Sheriff's office has issued the following press release regarding the small plane crash on I-90 Near Clinton:
All,
At approximately 3:00 pm this afternoon (8/28/16) deputies responded with Rural Fire and Highway Patrol to a small single engine plane that crashed near the Rock Creek exit of Interstate 90.
The incident required at least one lane of eastbound traffic to be closed while first responders worked the scene. Sadly, the two occupants of the plane did not survive the crash. The identity of the occupants will not be released until proper notification to family has been provided.
The crash investigation will be conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). The sheriff’s office will conduct coroner duties related to this incident but all other information will need to be obtained from the NTSB investigators. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved.
One lane will be closed eastbound on I-90 until Monday morning when investigators can analyze the crash.
The Montana Department of transportation is reporting a small plane crash on I-90 near Rock Creek, just East of Clinton. No further details are available at this time.
==============================
Date:
28-AUG-2016
Time: 15:00
Type: Cessna
Owner/operator:
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Unknown
Location: Missoula County, Clinton, MT - 
United States of America
Phase: Unknown
Nature: Unknown
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted roadway terrain adjacent to the Rock Creek Airport (RC0) in Clinton, Montana. The airplane was partially consumed by the ensuing fire and the two occupants onboard received fatal injuries.
Sources:
http://missoulian.com/news/local/dead-in-small-plane-crash-on-i--at-rock/article_8a1e1e72-ca2d-568e-9f14-681c569314bb.html
http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/32858555/breaking-small-plane-crash-near-clinton
http://newstalkkgvo.com/two-dead-after-small-plane-crash-near-rock-creek-traffic-delayed-on-i-90-crash-sparked-small-grass-fire/
https://www.google.com/maps/@46.7280165,-113.6660192,16z/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en-us
Coast Guard and local agencies respond to plane crash in Lake Pontchartrain
Aug 28th, 2016
NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard and local agencies are continuing to search for two people in the water after a plane crashed in Lake Pontchartrain near Lake Front Airport, Satuday.
One person was rescued by a good Samaritan and then transferred to a 45-foot Response Boat- Medium from Coast Guard Station New Orleans and delivered to emergency medical services for further medical care.
A Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Coast Guard Station New Orleans have been doing search patterns in the area since the initial report of the crash.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries assisted with side-scan sonar and was able to locate what appears to be wings.
The state has rescue divers scheduled to arrive on scene and search the debris.
The Coast Guard and local agencies have rescued one person and are searching for two more people in the water after a plane crashed in Lake Pontchartrain near Lake Front Airport, Saturday.
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report from a good Samaritan at 8:20 p.m. of a Cessna training flight crashing into the water.
Involved in the search are:
Coast Guard Station New Orleans 45-foot Response Boat- Medium crew
Coast Guard Station New Orleans 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew
Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Air Station New Orleans
New Orleans Fire Department
New Orleans Police Department
Anyone with information is requested to contact Sector New Orleans (504) 365-2200.
====================================
2 missing, 1 injured, plane wreckage found after crash in in Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, LA
Published August 28, 2016
Associated Press
One person was rescued after the plane crash. (Fox 8)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – The wreckage of a small plane that crashed Saturday night was discovered in a mud-bottomed New Orleans lake 24 miles wide and 40 miles long, authorities said Sunday morning.
Two men remained missing but a woman was rescued after the crash.
The Cessna aircraft was heading to Lakefront Airport, on Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans' northern edge, about 10 miles from downtown.
Police Department spokeswoman Dawne Massey said the wreckage was found Sunday morning. She said in an earlier statement that officers responded shortly before 9 p.m. to a report of the crash. Massey said a private yacht picked up the woman, who was taken to Ochsner Hospital. Her medical condition was not immediately known.
Date:
27-AUG-2016
Time: 08:53 p.m.
Type: Cessna
Owner/operator: Private
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities: Fatalities: / Occupants: 3
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Lake Ponchatrain - United States of America
Phase: Unknown
Nature: Private
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Narrative:
The plane crashed into the lake, near New Orleans Lakefront Airport.
One female occupant was rescued, two others are still missing.
Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/08/28/one-person-rescued-2-missing-after-new-orleans-plane-crash.html
Damage sustained to
the pier after the passenger vessel Spirit of Baltimore allided with the
pier Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016. U.S Coast Guard photo by Chief Warrant
Officer Tom Davan
Coast Guard responds to vessel allision in Baltimore
August 28, 2016
BALTIMORE — The Coast Guard is investigating an allision that occurred when the passenger vessel Spirit of Baltimore struck the pier at Henderson Wharf Marina in Baltimore, Sunday morning.
There were 447 people aboard the vessel at the time of the incident.
The vessel’s hull reportedly sustained cosmetic damage, and 60-feet of pier was reportedly damaged.
Coast Guard investigators from Sector Maryland-National Capital Region are investigating the incident and assessing the damage to the vessel and pier.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation.
There is currently no report of pollution.
Firefighter burned in Middletown, Del.
Updated 8 mins ago
MIDDLETOWN, Del. (WPVI) -- A firefighter was burned battling a blaze in Middletown, Delaware.
The fire was reported around 4 p.m. Sunday at a home in the 200 block of Vincent Circle.
Fire started in a row home and spread to the adjacent homes along the back side of each house.
A total of five homes were damaged. Three were damaged by fire, while the other two were damaged by smoke and water.
The firefighter who was burned is expected to be okay.
Another firefighter was treated for exhaustion.
(Matthew Hinton/The Advocate)
Updated 19 mins ago
LAPLACE, LA -- A bus full of construction workers hit a firetruck on an elevated highway Sunday, killing two people and injuring 36, several of them seriously, Louisiana State Police said.
The ladder truck from St. John the Baptist Parish, west of New Orleans, had parked across the right lane of Interstate 10 to block traffic while police investigated an earlier wreck involving a pickup truck that had skidded on the wet road, crashing into both guardrails about 6:40 a.m., Trooper Melissa Matey said.
The 2002 Eldorado National party bus hit the fire truck and then rear-ended a 2012 Toyota Camry, pushing it into a flatbed trailer being towed by a 2016 Chevrolet Silverado, Matey said. She said the bus then veered behind the fire truck and into the first pickup truck, a 2005 Nissan Titan. It also knocked three firefighters, who were standing near the guard rail, into the water 30 to 40 feet below.
Matey said the wreck killed Jermaine Starr, 21, of Moss Point, Mississippi, a back-seat passenger in the Camry, and St. John the Baptist Parish district Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin. The injured included the other two firefighters, the bus driver, 24 bus passengers and a total of nine people in the car and pickups.
Firefighter Nicholas Saale, 32, of Ponchatoula, and Camry passenger Vontravous Kelly of Moss Point, Mississippi, are in critical condition, she said. The Camry's other two occupants, driver Marcus Tate, 35, and David Jones, both of Moss Point, are in serious condition.
Other injuries - including the Titan's two occupants, who suffered minor injuries in the original crash - ranged from minor to moderate, Matey said.
The bus driver, identified as Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, 37, of Honduras, will be arrested on two counts of negligent homicide and one each of reckless driving and driving without a license, she said.
"Additional criminal charges are forthcoming," she said.
The injured were taken to hospitals in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Hammond and LaPlace, she said.
Matey said the bus was taking flood recovery workers from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.
It belonged to a company with two names: AM Party Bus and Kristina's Transportation LLC, both at the same address in Jefferson, about 30 miles from New Orleans in Jefferson Parish, Matey said.
No listing in Jefferson was available. A call to Kristina's Transportation in Destrehan, 12 miles from Jefferson in St. Charles Parish, was not answered Sunday. A woman who answered the phone at AM Party Bus of New Orleans said she was only authorized to take booking calls.
Matey did not know whether Rodriguez was an employee of that company, or whether the company checked to see whether he had a driver's license.
"He is in this country illegally from Honduras. He has no driver's license. He had minor injuries," she said.
Matey did not know where in Honduras Rodriguez is from.
Department of Homeland Security investigators and state police are checking on the passengers' immigration status, she said.
Matey said speed was a factor in both the crash of the Titan, which bounced from one guard rail to the other about 6:40 a.m., and that of the bus at 7:17 a.m.
========================
FIREFIGHTER STRUCK & KILLED, OTHERS INJURED ON I-10 IN LOUISIANA
August 28, 2016
We regret to pass on to you that a District Fire Chief of St Johns The Baptist (NW of New Orleans, Louisiana) Fire Department was killed in the Line of Duty this morning. District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin with the St. John the Baptist Fire Department, was pronounced dead at River Parishes Hospital after being struck at the scene of a previous crash on I-10.
WHAT HAPPENED:
St. John the Baptist Firefighters responded to the initial crash involving a pickup truck which came to rest in the right shoulder of I-10.
As Firefighters were working on closing the roadway, a west-bound charter bus lost control for unknown reasons and struck fire apparatus on the scene.
Afterwards, the bus struck three firefighters, throwing them from the elevated portion of the interstate over the guard rail and into the water below.
—The other two Firefighters survived but are hospitalized. 41 patients were transported from the scene, 5 by medical helicopter and 36 by ground ambulance.
—Louisiana State police say that driver of the bus had no driver’s license nor a license to operate a commercial vehicle.
More to follow. Our condolences to all those affected.
================
3 FIREFIGHTER LINE OF DUTY DEATHS UPDATES (MN/MI & LA)
August 28, 2016
A bad couple of days for Firefighters on the roadways-here are some updates:
MINNESOTA
In Minnesota yesterday, 25-year-old Beartown Michigan Firefighter Alan Swartz and 23-year-old Firefighter James Shelifoe, both of of Baraga, Michigan, were killed when the fire transport truck they were in went off I-35W around 1500 yesterday. The vehicle hit a cable barrier, bounced off and rolled several times.
A total of 9 Firefighters were in the truck. Swartz and Shelifoe died, and several others were injured, some severely. They were responding to help fight the Box Canyon fire, which so far has burned around 4,000 acres in Utah. RIP.
LOUISIANA
In Louisiana this morning, Firefighters, State Police troopers and citizens climbed over a guardrail, down 30 feet into alligator infested canal waters to rescue 3 St. John the Baptist Parish firefighters thrown from an Interstate 10 bridge after they were hit by a party bus-driven by an illegal immigrant this morning. Charges pending against bus driver who slammed into 3 Firefighters, throwing them over the bridge and into the water below.
One of the firefighters, St. John Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin, 36, was killed in the Line of Duty. Firefighters William “Mack” Beal and Nick Saale were were also taken to a local hospital. FF Saale was still hospitalized in stable condition this evening and FF Beal was released after treatment for minor injuries.
Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, 37, of Honduras, the bus driver accused of plowing into the Firefighters, has no driver’s license and entered the country illegally and criminal charges are pending.
The LODD was the result of a 2nd crash. The first occurred about 0640 hours when a pick-up truck headed westbound on I-10 and traveling too fast for the slick roadway hit the left guardrail. The truck bounced across to the other guardrail and came to a stop in the right lane and shoulder of the bridge. State Police troopers and St. John fire crews responded to the scene to assist and shut down the interstate, blocking the highway with a ladder truck.
Around 0717 hours, Rodriguez was headed westbound in the left lane of I-10 when for an unknown reason, Rodriguez’s bus was also out of control and hit the fire truck blocking I-10. The bus then crossed into the right lane of the highway and hit the Firefighters, including Chief Chauvin, who were standing between a State Police patrol car and the truck involved in the first crash. All three firemen were thrown over the side of the guardrail, into the water below.
The bus also hit another unidentified vehicle. The second person killed in the crash was a passenger in that vehicle.
About 30 to 42 passengers on the party bus suffered minor injuries. They were taken to local hospitals for treatment.
Chief Chauvin was married with two small children had been a career Firefighter with the parish since 2004. RIP.
Photo courtesy of KARE-TV 11
By Mallory Anderson
Posted: Sat 8:43 PM, Aug 27, 2016 |
Updated: Sun 1:32 PM, Aug 28, 2016
BLAINE, Minn. (WLUC) - UPDATE: 11:43 p.m. 8/27/2016
TV6 has confirmed Beartown Firefighters of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community were involved a fatal crash in Blaine, Minnesota on Saturday.
Police say two people were killed and several others were seriously injured in the crash. The accident involved a vehicle with nine occupants, and happened on Interstate 35W at 95th Avenue around 3 p.m. CST.
MnDOT reports the truck was Southbound on 35W near 95th Ave, and left the roadway for an unknown reason. The truck then struck the median cable barriers, and rolled over. According to MnDOT, that section of the freeway was closed in both directions until 7:30 p.m. CST. Based on the evidence collected thus far, the driver was either drunk and/or speeding. No other vehicle was involved.
According to MnDOT, Michael A. Johnson (29) of Baraga was the driver, and Dave R. Varline (26) of Baraga, Robert A. Shawa of L'Anse, Ross J. Jaukkuri (33) of Baraga, Gavin C. Loonsfoot (34) of Baraga, Tyler J. Tolonen (26) of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, Joseph Jossens of Michigan, and Shashaywin D. Sandman Shelifoe (29), of Minnesota, were all passengers in the vehicle. Physical conditions of each person involved is unknown at this time.
According to Minnesota State Police, all injured firefighters are expected to recover.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community has release a statement Saturday night regarding the fatal accident of Beartown Firefighters in Blaine, Minnesota.
"The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community learned this evening that our Beartown Firefighting crew was involved in a tragic traffic accident. Two of our fire fighters were killed and several others were severely injured. Our hearts are broken and our prayers are with the family members and those injured.
We are continuing to gather information on the condition of each and every fire fighter who was sent to the Box Canyon fire. It has been difficult due to privacy laws. If any family members have questions, please contact the Tribal Police Department 353-6626.
There will also be staff at the Tribal Center to process Emergency Medical Travel beginning tonight. Family needing assistance should contact Larry Denomie at 201-0631.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the families."
An official from the KBIC has told TV6 many of the victims involved in the accident come from low income families. The KBIC has already begun planning a fundraiser to benefit the families affected by this accident. A spaghetti dinner and 50/50 raffle fundraiser will be held at the L’Anse VFW, Monday August 29th at 5:30 p.m.
-----
The Star Tribune, a newspaper out of Minneapolis, reports Warren “Chris” Swartz, president of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, confirmed there has been a fatal crash involving one of their vehicles in Blaine, Minnesota.
Police say two people were killed and several others were seriously injured in a crash in Blaine Saturday afternoon. The crash involved a vehicle with nine occupants, and happened on Interstate 35W at 95th Avenue around 3 p.m. CST.
According to the Star Tribune, photos on social media show a vehicle with logos similar to those of the Beartown Firefighters. Beartown Firefighters is a firefighting crew based out of Baraga and is managed by the KBIC and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Officials from the KBIC have confirmed to TV6 that the crew was on their way to a wildfire in Utah.
An official from the KBIC has told TV6 many of the victims involved in the accident come from low income families. The KBIC has already begun planning a fundraiser to benefit the families affected by this accident. A spaghetti dinner and 5/50 raffle fundraiser will be held at the L’Anse VFW, Monday August 29th at 5:30 p.m.
This is a developing story, and TV6 will have more information as it becomes available.
=================
2 WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS KILLED, 6 INJURED IN FIRE APPARATUS CRASH-MINNESOTA LODD
Billy August 27, 2016
We regret to pass on to you that two Firefighters traveling in a Michigan-based fire vehicle were killed in the Line of Duty, and others were injured, following a crash this evening on Interstate 35W in Blaine, MN-while enroute to a fire in Utah. The fire transport vehicle contained 8 Firefighters.
Initial reports are that the truck belonged to the Beartown Firefighters, a crew located on the south shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula that specializes in fighting wildfires.
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs manages this Type 2 Wildland Firefighting handcrew. The Firefighters are based out of Baraga, MI. and are available for dispatch locally as well as nation-wide.
It is jointly managed by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
The Firefighters were on their way to the Box Canyon wildfire in Utah. Our condolences to all those affected. More to follow. RIP.
Fatal Crash Closes I-35W Southbound in Blaine
August 27, 2016 05:23 PM
A vehicle crash on Interstate 35W near 95th Avenue in Blaine is causing traffic to be diverted both northbound and southbound.
Officials have confirmed that at least one person is dead. Several others were injured in the crash, according to investigators.
Lettering on a truck involved in the crash says Beartown Fire Department. There is a Beartown Fire Department located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Interstate 35W crash near 95th Avenue in Blaine Aug. 27, 2016.
Streets near the Tesoro Corp. refinery in Carson were closed Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, due to a sulfur-tank explosion at the site. The sheriff's department recommended that people within a quarter-mile stay indoors but no evacuations were ordered. Courtesy of NBC4
Tesoro refinery tank in Wilmington explodes; none injured
by KPCC staff & wires August 26 2016
A sulfur tank exploded Friday at the Tesoro refinery in Wilmington, sending a chemical cloud into the air and causing a fire, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
There was no immediate word on the cause of the blast, which occurred at about 1 p.m.
"We are currently conducting air quality monitoring around the site," company spokesman Destin Singleton said. "At this time we have not detected any harmful levels of toxins." 
General location of the Tesoro refinery located in both Wilmington and Carson. Google Maps
Everyone at the scene near the 23200 block of South Alameda Street was accounted for, Singleton said.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department sent in a hazardous materials team.
No evacuations were ordered but the Sheriff's Department urged people within a quarter-mile of the scene to stay indoors, and Alameda Street was closed between 223rd Street and Sepulveda Boulevard.
The Tesoro refinery, far left, is seen in Carson, Friday, Aug. 26, 2016. A sulfur tank exploded Friday at the largest oil refinery in California, sending a chemical cloud into the air and causing a fire, authorities said. Damian Dovarganes/AP
The 930-acre refinery near the Port of Long Beach is located in both Wilmington and Carson. It is the largest refinery on the West Coast and produces gasoline, jet fuel, diesel and other fuels, according to Tesoro.
An Associated Press report was used in this story.
====================
Rupture in Sulfur Tank Prompts Shelter-in-Place Order Around Tesoro Refinery
Posted 2:47 PM, August 26, 2016, by Melissa Pamer and Christina Pascucci, Updated at 10:11pm, August 26, 2016
A shelter-in-place order was lifted in the area around the Tesoro refinery in the Carson and Wilmington area Friday evening hours after a sulfur tank ruptured and created a plume that towered above the facility.
A "rupture" occurred at the Tesoro Los Angeles Refinery on Aug. 26, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
Los Angeles County firefighters were called to the refinery — near Alameda and East 223rd streets — about 1:20 p.m.
A "rupture" occurred about 1 p.m. at a sulfur tank in the Wilmington portion of the refinery, a Tesoro Corp. spokesman said in a statement. A small fire at the tank site was quickly extinguished.
Debris was scattered on the ground around the tank, which appeared heavily damaged, aerial video from Sky5 showed.
"An emergency response team at the refinery is responding to the situation," the statement read. "At this time we have not detected any harmful levels of toxins."
Responders were working to stop a "steam plume" rising from the tank, the company said. Air quality was being monitored.
A plume rises above the Tesoro refinery after a breach in a sulfur tank there on Aug. 26, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
All personnel near the explosion have been accounted for and no injuries were reported, according to the statement.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department issued a shelter-in-place order for a quarter-mile radius around the refinery. Only four businesses in the largely industrial area were affected by the order, the company said.
No evacuations were requested, Tesoro said.
A "rupture" occurred at the Tesoro Los Angeles Refinery on Aug. 26, 2016. (Credit: KTLA)
Alameda Street was temporarily closed from 223rd Street to East Sepulveda Boulevard, and people were urged to avoid the area. The road was reopened around 7 p.m.
The facility's own fire department is the primary responding agency, county fire Inspector Richard Licon said.
The Tesoro Los Angeles Refinery has addresses at 2350 E. 223rd St. in Carson and 2101 East Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington. The facility spans Carson and the northern reaches of the Wilmington neighborhood of Los Angeles.
The cause of the incident was under investigation, Tesoro said.
KTLA's Jennifer Thang and Matt Phillips contributed to this article.
(Google Earth )
Eyewitness News
Saturday, August 27, 2016 09:29PM
EDISON, New Jersey (WABC) -- One person has died after scaffolding collapsed at a warehouse in New Jersey.
Employees at the 'Nu Beauty Supplies' warehouse in Edison were taking down the scaffolding on Sunday afternoon just after 4 p.m.,. when it crashed on top of a worker. The worker was then pronounced dead at the hospital.
The name of the worker is being withheld pending family notification in Guatemala.
OSHA is investigating the collapse, along with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Aug. 28, 2016 at 01:53 by Mikhail Voytenko
An Indian cargo dhow, with 11 crew members on board, sunk off the coast of Jalan Bani Bu Ali province, Oman, in the morning Aug 27. All crew members were rescued by Omani fishermen.
Dhow was on its way from Sharjah, UAE, to Al Mukalla port, Yemen, and was carrying 69 vehicles, food stuff, tyres and engine oils. Dhow developed heavy list and understood to capsize and sink, due to cargo shift.
Vessel is not listed in international databases, it’s a regional cargo dhow, engaged in coastal trade.
Dhow (Arabic داو dāw) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with lateen sails used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region.
Two men from Louisiana killed in Lake of the Ozarks speed boat crash
By Sara Forhetz, Drew Douglas |
Posted: Sat 6:58 AM, Aug 27, 2016 |
Updated: Sat 7:52 PM, Aug 27, 2016
SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. Searchers have found the bodies of two men from Louisiana killed in a boat crash on the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reports the men died after their 44-foot speed boat became airborne, rolled in the air, hit the water and flipped upside down near Sunrise Beach. The crash occurred about 7 p.m. Friday near mile marker 10.3.
Witnesses nearby rushed to the crash to begin the search, State Troopers arrived about 13 minutes later, searching for the 2 missing boaters until sundown.
Dive teams and sonar crews resumed a search for the men's bodies Saturday morning, and concluded the search at about noon.
The Patrol identifies the men as 40-year-old Bradley Dunphy of Lafayette, Louisiana, and 49-year-old Richard Prince of Metaire, Louisiana.
The patrol says Prince was driving the boat, which was pulled from the lake late Friday.
The men were believed to be visiting the area for the boat race this weekend, although there was no organized races at the time of the crash.
The Patrol reports at least one other person was injured in a crash during the boat race competition. Those injures are not believed to be life threatening.
Alaska biplane pilot killed in Madras air show crash
Witnesses say plane was doing first large loop after takeoff
Barney Lerten
POSTED: 3:36 PM PDT August 27, 2016 UPDATED: 12:04 AM PDT August 28, 2016
Airshow of the Cascades; Cheryl Bishop
Alaska biplane pilot Marcus Paine suffered fatal injuries in the crash of his plane during an initial roll maneuver Saturday at the Airshow of the Cascades at Madras Airport, officials say
MADRAS, Ore. -
A skilled aerobatic pilot from Anchorage, Alaska died when his biplane crashed during an initial loop shortly after takeoff at the Aishow of the Cascades at Madras Airport on Saturday afternoon, Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins confirmed.
Adkins said Marcus Bruce Paine, 61, was at the controls of the Stearman biplane when the crash occurred during the second day of the two-day air show.
"The FAA was at the air show and will be conducting a thorough investigation of the crash," Adkins said. "The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is also investigating the crash, with the assistance of the Madras Police Department."
Air show spectators watched in shock and dismay as the exhibition turned tragically wrong on a warm, blue-sky day in Madras. Their photos and videos showed the smoke trail of a giant looping maneuver, followed a dark plume of smoke rising from the airfield as first responders rushed to the scene.
Air show officials and fellow pilots were among the many devastated by the loss.
"It is with heavy hearts that the Airshow of the Cascades announces the loss of a talented aerobatic performer, Marcus Paine," Don Mobley, the air show's performers' coordinator, told reporters at a news briefing Saturday evening.
"The whole air show community appreciates your thoughts and prayers during this time, and we respectfully ask that you give Mr. Paine's family privacy during this difficult time," Mobley added.
Paine had done this particular maneuver many times in the past, including Friday's Madras performance. The Madras Airport's main runway remained closed for the investigation.
The air show's website profile said, "Marcus Paine brings the thrill of aerobatic flight from his hometown of Anchorage, where he has lived for more than 40 years.
"Raised on a homestead in Rabbit Creek, Marc has been a pilot for over 20 years and is a skilled instructor - teaching pilots of all skill levels new ways of thinking about the principles of flight.
"He is also a distinguished graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and a former U.S. Army Special Forces Officer, Airborne Ranger, and Jumpmaster. He commanded a combat dive A Team and worked projects throughout the Middle East and South America," it noted.
The Alaska Air Show website profile said Paine's flight school teaches "unusual attitude recovery, stall/spin awareness and aerobatic flight."
FAA records show the acrobatic plane was manufactured in 1941, with an air-worthiness certificate date in June 1995, and currently registered to Paine's Universal Attitudes LLC in Tucson, Arizona.
It was the first fatal crash at the Madras Airport in over a decade. Thomas Ellsberg, a Bend resident, well-known aerobatic pilot and the CEO of Bellatrix Systems, was killed in a June 2005 crash while practicing aerobatic maneuvers.
Date:
27-AUG-2016
Time: 14:45
Type: 
Boeing A75N1(PT17) Stearman
Owner/operator: Unusual Attitudes LLC
Registration: N999PP
C/n / msn: 75-2389
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Madras Municipal Airport (S33), Madras, OR - United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature: Demo/Airshow/Display
Departure airport: Madras Muni (S33)
Destination airport: Madras Muni (S33)
Narrative:
The aircraft impacted airport terrain while performing an aerobatic flight maneuver during the Airshow of the Cascades at the Madras Municipal Airport (S33) in Madras, Oregon. The airplane was partially consumed by the post-impact fire and the 61 year old pilot received fatal injuries.
Sources:
http://www.ktvz.com/news/biplane-crash-reported-at-madras-air-show/41401406
http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/4614838-151/biplane-crashes-at-airshow-in-madras
http://bnonews.com/news/index.php/news/id5068
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=999PP
http://www.ipernity.com/doc/jbezosky/42073718
http://www.cascadeairshow.com
ABC FOX MT's reporters on scene.
