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NEW Pilot's body reported found at crash site
Rescue teams have reached and located the body of a pilot whose plane crashed last week in the Sawtooth Wilderness area.
The wreckage of a Cessna 182 airplane, missing on a flight from Boise since Wednesday afternoon, was discovered in a rugged wilderness area north of Atlanta at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning, the Idaho Transportation Department announced.
Due to adverse weather conditions, rescue teams may not be able to reach the crash site until Monday, according to Jim Nolan of the Elmore County Search and Rescue unit.
The small single-engine aircraft, piloted by Adam Shandro, 36, left the Boise airport at 1:55 p.m. Wednesday. Shandro is believed to have been the only occupant. No flight plan was filed.
Shandro's last known radar coordinates were between Atlanta and Stanley.
The wreckage was discovered by Idaho Transportation Department and Civil Air Patrol search planes and an Army National Guard helicopter. The plane's wreckage was spotted about ten miles north of Atlanta in the Sawtooth Wilderness area near Browns Lake and the Queens River Trail. The wreckage is in the rugged and snow-covered terrain at an altitude of about 8,000 feet.
There was no sign of Shandro or any other occupants from the air.
Nolan said the plane appeared to have impacted on the face of one of the mountains in the area, with the wreckage located on a vertical wall of the mountain. He said teams would try Monday to fly in by Idaho National Guard helicopter to the trailhead, which is about ten miles from the crash site. The delay is based on the recommendations of the National Weather Service. Thunderstorms with gusty winds, heavy rain and possible hail are predicted for the area through Sunday. The region was described Friday morning as "socked in" by residents in Atlanta, where a small, unpaved airfield exists. The trailhead itself can only be reached by helicopter at this time of year.
Nolan said Friday afternoon that the current plan was to send in three rescue team members with rappelling experience, and a sheriff's department detective, to the crash site.
The Idaho Transportation Department's Division of Aeronautics was alerted to the missing plane late Thursday. The division is responsible for coordinating air searches for overdue or missing planes. Local airports were checked Thursday afternoon to determine if the plane had landed.
The plane, built in 1968, is registered at Gowen Field in Boise to Ward D. Parkinson, one of the founders of Micron. Shandro, described as an experienced pilot, is his stepson. Shandro is married and has two young daughters.
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