Two Middleton residents killed in plane crash in Oregon after taking off from Caldwell

Sally Krutzig
·2 min read
2

Two Idahoans were killed in a plane crash in Oregon near the Snake River on Sunday morning after taking off from Caldwell.

Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash and Lt. Ryan Downing spotted an airplane that “appeared to be in distress” before it crashed into a hillside in Oxbow at about 9:52 a.m., according to news release from the sheriff’s office. The two men called dispatch to request help as they headed to the scene.

Ash and Downing led a ground search, assisted by bystanders and an Idaho Power employee. They found the crash site on a ridge above an Idaho Power complex in Hells Canyon and found no survivors, the news release said.

Police said they learned that the plane was piloted by Terry Richards, 43, and had Caleb Tennant, 24, as a passenger. Both men were Middleton residents.

The pair took off from the Caldwell Executive Airport and were flying to Lewiston, officials said.

The cause of the crash has not been determined.

Idaho Power allowed law enforcement to use its Oxbow office as a command center during the investigation.

“We also sent a crew over there to monitor any fire activity just to make sure nothing flared up and posed any danger, and determine if we would need to maybe shut down any electrical equipment,” Brad Bowlin, Idaho Power spokesperson, told the Idaho Statesman.

Bowlin said the wet conditions of the remote area meant there ended up being no fire danger.

“We certainly feel for the families of those two guys,” Bowlin said. “It’s a terrible, terrible way to lose somebody.”

The Baker County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Pine Valley Rural Fire District, Halfway Ambulance, Baker Aircraft, Ada County Sheriff’s Office, Baker County Search and Rescue, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“On behalf of the Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Sheriff Ash would like to extend his sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Richards and Mr. Tennant,” the sheriff’s office posted on Facebook.

The Baker County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately return the Statesman’s request for comment.