HELENA – A single-engine plane crashed and burst into flames Thursday in eastern Montana, killing both people on board, authorities said.
It was the second fatal plane crash in the state this week.
The Piper PA-18 Super Cub had two people on board when it took off from Miles City Thursday morning, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Mike Fergus said.
The aircraft went down in the Forsyth area and burst into flames upon impact, he said. Both people on board died.
Fergus said he did not know the identities of the victims nor did he know the plane’s destination.
Rosebud County Sheriff Randy Allies confirmed the two deaths, saying it was two males from Miles City. He said he did not know their ages and declined to release additional details because he had not yet reached the family of one of the deceased.
An autopsy was planned for Friday.
Allies said two hunters heard the airplane flying and then a loud explosion as it crashed in a remote area of pastureland near the small community of Vananda. Allies added that the crash took place in “pretty rough country” and that it took rescue crews about an hour to reach the scene.
A cold front had passed moved through the area in the morning, shifting a light wind from the south to gusty winds from the north-northwest measuring 10 to 25 mph, said National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Tesar.
Light showers formed later that morning, producing wind gusts up to 40 mph, he said.
It is not known whether the weather played a factor in the crash.
On Monday, a single-engine plane crashed five miles west of Butte, killing a 19-year-old Montana State University student and a 61-year-old Montana Tech engineering professor. The student, Justin Robbe, was learning to fly and Richard Johnson was a partner with the aviation company the plane was registered to.
A funeral service for Johnson will be held in Butte on Friday. The service for Robbe will be on Saturday.