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Victims of Butte Plane Crash Identified

By Beacon Staff

BUTTE – The victims of a Montana plane crash were members of three California families traveling to the exclusive Yellowstone Club for a skiing vacation.

“We were going on a vacation with all the grandkids,” said Bud Feldkamp, who lost two daughters and their families in the crash. “They were all excited about skiing.”

Feldkamp leased the airplane that crashed Sunday in Butte. He said he, his wife and another daughter had driven to Montana for the vacation.

“We were at the entrance to the Yellowstone Club when I got a cell phone call” from my nephew, Feldkamp said. “He saw it on CNN. He said, ‘Nobody survived.’ And we knew it was our plane.”

Feldkamp spoke with The Associated Press shortly after he, his wife and two children along with Bob Ching and his wife spent about 45 minutes at the crash site.

Buddy Feldkamp said the victims included his sisters Amy Jacobson of St. Helena, Calif., and Vanessa Pullen of Lodi, Calif. Jacobson’s husband, Erin, and their children Taylor, 4; Ava, 3; Jude, 1, also died in the crash as did Pullen’s husband, Michael, and their children Sydney, 9, and Christopher, 7.

Buddy Feldkamp said Bob Ching’ son, Brent Ching, of Durham, Calif., was killed in the crash along with his wife, Kristen and their children, Heyley, 5 and Caleb, 4.

Vanessa Pullen was a pediatrician, Michael Pullen was a dentist, Erin Jacobson was an opthalmologist and Amy Jacobson was a dental hygienist. Brent Ching was an orthopedic surgeon.

Buddy Feldkamp identified the pilot as Buddy Summerfield.

The Yellowstone Club, near Yellowstone National Park, is a millionaires-only resort that counts former Vice President Dan Quayle and Microsoft founder Bill Gates among its 340 members.