Pilot OK after plane crashes on reservoir

The pilot of a single-engine light aircraft that crashed Saturday on the ice at Anderson Ranch Reservoir was able to walk away from the incident with no serious injuries.

"This is only the second pilot I've every talked to that crashed his plane, all the others were fatalities," said Capt. Mike Barclay of the Elmore County Sheriff's Office.

Barclay said the pilot of the plane, Richard Speed, 48, of Boise, was an experienced pilot.

Speed apparently was flying at about the ridge line that surrounds the reservoir, when he experienced a strong downdraft. When he tried to correct, he experienced a white-out -- "became snowblind" Barclay said -- and then hit the snow and ice on the reservoir near the Curleau docks area.

The plane then cartwheeled across the ice, coming to rest in the middle of the reservoir.

Speed had been flying with a second aircraft flown by a friend, Wayne Theil, also of Boise. Barclay said Theil saw the crash, circled the site, and then radioed the Boise control tower to report the crash. Control tower personnel then called the Elmore County Sheriff's Office. Some Pine-area residents also called to report the crash.

Theil then landed on the road near the Pine airfield on the west side of the reservoir to see if he could help his friend. The airfield itself was unusable, being covered in more than 3 feet of snow.

Speed was able to climb out of the severely damaged aircraft and walk over the ice to the west bank, but couldn't get any further due to the snow conditions.

Elmore County Search and Rescue teams attempted to reach him, and either one of their snowmobiles, or that of a nearby resident who was helping, Barclay wasn't sure, crashed through the ice near shore in about 3 feet of water.

Barclay called state communications for a helicopter, and an Air St. Luke's chopper was dispatched, which picked Speed up and delivered him to a nearby ambulance, where he was treated an released.

As of Tuesday morning Speed's aircraft was still sitting on the reservoir ice but efforts were being made to remove it at that time. Barclay said the aircraft "was a total loss. They'll have to get a helicopter to pull it off, and those kind of recoveries are pretty spendy," often costing at least $15,000. Barclay said that hopefully the aircraft will be removed before the ice melts enough that it falls through and goes to the bottom of the lake.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the accident.