Missing Plane Found Near Snoqualmie Pass With Body Of Pilot

The Washington Department of Transportation is offering condolences to the family of 69-year-old Jerry Riedinger, the pilot of a small single engine plane that crashed Sunday near Snoqualmie Pass.

He was found dead inside the plane located in a heavily forested area of Humpback Mountain at about 1:30 pm Monday.

Riedinger left the Arlington Municipal Airport Sunday at 4:30 p.m.

His wife reported him missing around 6 p.m., after he did not arrive at his destination in Ephrata.

The search focused on the area near Humpback Mountain off Interstate 90 based on cell phone and flight data.

Search and rescue groups combed the area extensively by air and on the ground after coordinating with the Department of Transportation Air Search and Rescue operations.

WSDOT said it's thankful to the more than 220 people who provided their time or expertise during the search mission Sunday and Monday.

Agencies who assisted in the search include King County Search and Rescue, King County Sheriff's Office, Kittitas County Sheriff's Office, Kittitas County Search and Rescue, Seattle Mountain Rescue, Washington Air Search and Rescue, Snoqualmie Pass Ski Patrol Rescue, King County Explorer Search and Rescue, Pierce County Explorer Search and Rescue and WSDOT personnel.

Riedinger was flying a 2001 Extra Flugzeugbau 300/L plane, which one or two people and is described as an aerobatic monoplane.