OLYMPIA - The Washington State Department of Transportation is searching for a missing plane in the hills near Ellensburg.
WSDOT Air Search and Rescue was notified Tuesday night of a missing a red, white and blue Cessna 150 enroute to the Lake Chelan Airport. The plane departed from the Yakima Air Terminal/McAllister Field at 3:43 p.m. Tuesday. A family member reported it missing when the plane did not arrive.
WSDOT was notified of the missing plane by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center via the Washington State Emergency Operations Center. Search efforts began immediately. A U.S. Army helicopter from the Yakima Training Center has been requested to assist in aerial search efforts. Chelan County Sheriff’s Office and Life Flight Air Ambulance are conducting additional aerial search flights today as well. Additional search resources from the Chelan, Grant and Douglas County Sheriff’s Offices are actively assisting.
The Civil Air Patrol National Radar Forensics Team provided radar data for the missing plane. The data revealed the plane's northward path toward Ellensburg, followed by a northeastern trajectory. The last recorded radar track indicated the plane’s location in the hills between Ellensburg and the Columbia River before the signal was lost. Ground and air search teams deployed throughout the night, focusing on the area where the plane's last radar signal was detected.
Crews are taking advantage of daylight hours to continue search operations. Anyone who thinks they saw or heard the plane Tuesday or spotted anything in the area should call the State Emergency Operations Center at 800-258-5990 with details. Currently, search officials do not need volunteers to conduct air or land searches.
Updates on the search will be posted on the WSDOT blog. Email updates from WSDOT are also available online by signing up and selecting the emergency news “air search and rescue” option. Barring new developments – which would be announced on the blog – the next update is planned for 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 5.
WSDOT, by statute (RCW 47.68.380) is charged with the coordination and management of aerial search and rescue within the state. The agency works in conjunction with volunteer search and rescue groups, law enforcement and other agencies, such as the U.S. Navy, in carrying out such searches.