Pilot who died in plane crash in the Spokane Valley identified

SPOKANE — The pilot who died in a cargo plane crash in the Spokane Valley last weekend was identified yesterday as Thomas A. Richert of Kent.

Richert, 32, died when the airplane crashed and burned east of Felts Field early Saturday, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office said.

Dental records were used to confirm the victim's identity. No one else was on the plane.

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

The SW3 Merlin was owned by AmeriFlight Inc. of Burbank. Calif., a contract carrier for United Parcel Service. The plane flew from Boeing Field in Seattle to Felts Field in Spokane every Saturday. The twin turboprop was carrying 127 parcels.

It crashed in heavy fog on its final approach to the airport. Visibility was a quarter mile, with a 400-foot cloud ceiling.

The pilot radioed the airport moments before the crash, but he was not in distress, FAA spokesman Mike O'Connor said.

Witnesses said they heard the plane flying very low in the fog and then heard it strike trees along a road and crash in the gully below.

The plane was torn to scraps by its tumble through the pine trees and continued to burn two hours after the crash.