A dive team has recovered the body of a local woman killed when a plane crashed last week into the Columbia River near Astoria, Ore.
At about 1:30 p.m. Monday, divers working with the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office recovered the body of 63-year-old Irene Mustain.
Divers discovered the bodies of Mustain and private pilot John McKibbin on Friday in some of the plane wreckage. Divers were able to recover McKibbin’s body immediately, but had to return today to free Mustain’s body.
The two were in McKibbin’s personal aircraft, a 1941 North American AT-6A military trainer, when it crashed for unknown reasons at about 4 p.m. Wednesday. They had taken off from Pearson Field in Vancouver on a mission to scatter the ashes of Mustain’s late husband on what would have been his birthday.
Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said salvage crews have arrived in town and work to recover pieces of the plane will likely begin today. Sheriff’s deputies did not work on the crash over the weekend. The plane has broken into many pieces, according to sonar scans of the area, and the wreckage lies in 13 to 20 feet of water near the shipping channel.
McKibbin, 69, was one of Clark County’s best-known and respected citizens. The Washington Legislature is expected to hold a remembrance this morning in the Senate chambers for McKibbin. State lawmakers will honor their former colleague’s life and achievements. McKibbin, a Democrat, served two terms in the state House. He also served as a Clark County commissioner and in numerous civic positions in the community over a career spanning more than 45 years.
It could be some time before the cause of the accident is known.
Allen Kenitzer of the Federal Aviation Administration said McKibbin didn’t file a flight plan before leaving Pearson Field and the AT-6A crashed under unknown circumstances.
The National Transportation Safety Board is also investigating the crash and plans to release a preliminary report later this week.
