Oregon Crash Claims Kent Pilot, Friend

DAMASCUS, Ore. - The two commercial airline pilots killed when their single-engine plane crashed into a steep, wooded hill north of

here were Washington state residents.

Roger Snyder, 59, of Kent, and Thomas Wright, 53, of Lake Stevens, had taken a commercial flight to Placerville, Calif., on Tuesday to pick up the Cessna 185, which Snyder had purchased earlier.

They were flying the small plane home to Crest Air Park near Puyallup when it flew into the hill about 9:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Either man could have been flying the plane, which has dual controls, said Jim Court, fire marshal for the nearby Boring, Ore., Fire Department.

Pilots bound for the Troutdale Airport east of Portland often hug the terrain as they approach, not realizing how abruptly the hill rises from the rolling countryside, Court said.

Clackamas County sheriff's spokesman Damon Coates said the small plane clipped several tree tops before going down about five miles north of Damascus.

Kieth Crimin, a safety specialist for the FAA's flight standards office in Hillsboro, said the crash was the result of "controlled flight into terrain."

"He was flying at a straight and level altitude," Crimin said. "The hill just jumped up in front of them."