Passengers on a small single-engine plane taking off from a remote airfield in the northwestern U.S. state of Idaho capture the scene on video as the plane loses altitude and crashes into a forest. The pilot and three passengers aboard the plane survived.
The group had been hiking in the Idaho mountains and was on the way back to the resort town of McCall when the plane, piloted by Les Gropp, 70, began losing altitude shortly after takeoff and crashed into a forest.
The video, taken by passengers Alex Arhets and Nathan Williams, shows the group in the plane as it takes off, as the plane begins losing altitude and as it hits the tree tops and crashes in the forest. It also shows the passengers after surviving the crash - Gropp suffering a broken jaw and the passengers minor cuts and bruises.
The crash site was later spotted and a rescue helicopter was sent to rescue the survivors.
The plane crash happened June 30, but passengers Arhets and Williams only recently made the video available. Crash investigators theorized the plane began losing altitude after hitting an air downdraft.
The group had been hiking in the Idaho mountains and was on the way back to the resort town of McCall when the plane, piloted by Les Gropp, 70, began losing altitude shortly after takeoff and crashed into a forest.
The video, taken by passengers Alex Arhets and Nathan Williams, shows the group in the plane as it takes off, as the plane begins losing altitude and as it hits the tree tops and crashes in the forest. It also shows the passengers after surviving the crash - Gropp suffering a broken jaw and the passengers minor cuts and bruises.
The crash site was later spotted and a rescue helicopter was sent to rescue the survivors.
The plane crash happened June 30, but passengers Arhets and Williams only recently made the video available. Crash investigators theorized the plane began losing altitude after hitting an air downdraft.
