Map of Search Area from Google Earth.
Click Here website Kapowsin Air Sports Ltd.
10 people missing in suspected plane crash in WA Cascades
11:21 AM PDT on Monday, October 8, 2007
KING5.com Staff
SEATTLE - Yakima County crews are searching for a plane reported missing on a flight between Boise, Idaho and Shelton, Wash.
The Cessna Caravan had 10 people on board, returning from a skydiving competition in Boise, according to Tom Peterson of WSDOT Aviation and Shelton Airport officials.
Officials say the passengers were members of the Snohomish Parachute Center.
Peterson says a hunter reported hearing a plane crashing sound after dark Sunday.
Related Content
Map of search area
The plane was reported overdue at about 2:30 a.m.
The Department of Transportation aviation division is coordinating the air search and the Yakima Sheriff’s Office is coordinating the ground search, which is being focused south of White Pass.
A command post has been set up at Yakima Airport.
The latest report here is no survivors.
Prayers sent to all of the families.
its not very often that ou hear about caravans involved in accidents.
prayers for all involved.
CLICK HERE News video prior to discovery of wreckage.
CLICK HERE News coverage of finding the wreckage.
CLICK HERE FAA Preliminary Report
Caravans are very prone to icing unless they have the “hot wing” fix. Don’t know about this particular plane or what the dewpoint spread was at the time, but if it did ice then there’s only one way it’s going to go 
since it was a jump plane i would assume they would not have invested the extra money in icing equipment. Also, from the eye witness account it sounds as though they were flying pretty low over treacherous terrain, which would lead me to believe that they were flying vfr. I guess we will have to wait for the experts for the final verdict on this one.
Parents of skydiver killed in plane crash file suit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE – The parents of a skydiver killed in a plane crash in October have filed a lawsuit saying the plane was defective and shouldn’t have been flying in icy weather.
The 34-year-old Microsoft engineer, Bryan Jones, was one of nine skydivers from a Snohomish County jump club who were aboard the Cessna Caravan when it plunged into a mountainside above White Pass, killing all 10 aboard on Oct. 7. Also killed was the plane’s pilot.
The plane had been flying from Star, Idaho, to Shelton, Mason County.
The lawsuit was filed Friday by Jones’ parents, Daniel and Terrie Jones, and seeks damages for the pain and suffering their son experienced and their loss of companionship.
Attempts to reach Cessna for comment were unsuccessful.
Parents of skydiver killed in plane crash file suit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE – The parents of a skydiver killed in a plane crash in October have filed a lawsuit saying the plane was defective and shouldn’t have been flying in icy weather.
A case of the victim’s family going after corporate “deep pockets”. Not much money to be had in going after the pilot’s family or the skydiving company… 
Actually, the victim’s family’s lawyer. Standard practice to lodge a claim against the manufacturer before any cause has been established.
Here’s a better pic of the area:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2296/2193697094_b58f252460.jpg
And video moving east to south.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=C5iV8lFNcHQ
Needlenose Post above, was 100 percent correct…
March 11/08
SEATTLE – The families of nine skydivers killed when their plane crashed in Washington’s Cascade range have filed suit against Cessna Aircraft Co., claiming the aircraft-maker knew the plane performed poorly in icy conditions.
The lawsuits were filed separately in U.S. District Court in Seattle. Relatives of Ralph Abdo, who died in the Oct. 19 crash with eight other passengers and the pilot, were the latest to file suit on March 6.
The lawsuits seek punitive damages and other damages in excess of $25 million, alleging wrongful death.
The skydivers were returning to Western Washington from a weekend trip in Idaho when the Cessna Caravan 208 crashed into thick timber about 45 miles west of Yakima near the Goat Rocks Wilderness Area. A hunter in the crash area reported seeing the low-flying plane and said the engine seemed to be whining loudly, followed by silence.
A cold front had just swept through the area near White Pass where the plane went down. The Federal Aviation Administration had warned in recent years that pilots should avoid flying the Cessna Caravan 208 in many icy conditions after receiving reports that pilots had difficulty maintaining altitude and control of the aircraft during such conditions.
Dean Brett, a lawyer representing the families, said they hope to see that the airplane is decertified from flying into icy conditions.
“The plane operates fine in good weather, but because of its design characteristics, it should not be flown in icing conditions and should not be certified to do so,” Brett said in a telephone interview Tuesday.
Brett’s firm has teamed with a Chicago firm, Nolan Law Group, which is handling several other lawsuits involving the aircraft. The cases have been consolidated and are in the discovery process in Kansas. Cessna is based in Wichita, Kan. Spokesman Doug Oliver said the company’s policy is not to comment on pending litigation.
A report on the crash has not yet been issued by the National Transportation Safety Board.
The plane was registered to Kapowsin Air Sports of Shelton, located near Olympia. The skydivers were affiliated with Skydive Snohomish, a company that operates a training school and skydiving flights at Harvey Field in Snohomish County, about 20 miles north of Seattle.
Killed in the crash with Abdo were Casey Craig, Hollie Rasberry, Michelle Barker, Landon Atkin, Jeff Ross, Cecil Elsner, Andrew Smith, Bryan Jones, and pilot Phil Kibler. All lived in Western Washington.
Factual report says icing likely not cause of 2007 small plane crash
http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20071017X01609&key=1
The NTSB just released the “factual” report. They haven’t yet assigned a cause, but I can tell you what it will be:
- Hypoxia, resulting in impaired judgment and reduced cognitive function.
- Pilot’s lack of recent night IFR cross-country experience, resulting in cognitive overload.
- Stall/spin caused by exceeding critical angle of attack, brought on by hypoxia-worsened distraction and disorientation.
1, followed by 2, followed by 3.
When I saw in the initial report that the O2 mask was found stowed, that was all I needed to read. Now, we find from this latest report that the operator didn’t even put any O2 in the tank. It was empty.
The pilot had two choices: turn around – or try to fly at 14,000+ feet on instruments in possible icing conditions - with no O2. He made the wrong choice.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2009417243_ntsb04m.html
Federal investigators say that the man piloting a Cessna that crashed near White Pass in 2007, killing nine Snohomish based sky divers and himself, was likely suffering a severe lack of oxygen.