All 6 Dead In Plane Crash At Pass -- Aircraft Was Headed For Apple Cup Game

All six passengers aboard a twin-engine plane headed to the Apple Cup football game in Pullman were killed when the plane crashed at Granite Mountain near Snoqualmie Summit.

More than 100 people searched the avalanche-prone hillside yesterday. By mid-afternoon it was clear there were no survivors of the Saturday-morning crash.

Authorities have not released an official list of the crash victims, but family and friends have identified them as Seattle businessman James Dale Huber, his wife, Diana; the couple's sons Ryan, 15, and Jason, 13; Seattle businessman Jerry D. Schei and his wife, Kris of Edmonds.

Huber, a seasoned pilot, was a former member of the Washington State University Foundation board of trustees and a Cougar fan who flew his Beechcraft Duke for business, pleasure and to almost every WSU home game.

Huber, president of ATCO Services Inc., a washer and dryer sales and service company at 7100 Roosevelt Way N.E. in Seattle, didn't take risks, friends said. That's why the crash left many in shock.

"He was an incredibly careful man. No one can believe it because of that - he doesn't take chances," said Pam Shapiro, a friend of the Huber family.

"I've flown in great weather with him, in tough weather. He's as quality a pilot as there is," said Jerry Aldrich, a friend and business partner.

Schei, who operated Western Yacht Sales at 2412 Westlake Ave. N. in Seattle, was also a former trustee for the WSU Foundation. While Jerry Schei sold yachts, Kris Schei's expertise was in interior design for the vessels and for homes.

They were "nice people, hard workers. It's just unfortunate," said Roy Jurgensen, a former business partner.

A Western Yacht Sales employee delivered the bad news yesterday afternoon on Lake Union. The sun had broken through the clouds, and people were aboard their boats.

The same break in bad weather aided rescue crews in finding the downed plane.

Searchers sighted the wreckage of the plane at 2:53 p.m., in an avalanche chute near the 3,000-foot level, King County Police said. Canadian Air Patrol paramedics, lowered from their helicopter to check on the occupants, found no survivors.

Huber's plane left Boeing Field about 9:20 a.m. Saturday. About 35 miles east of Seattle, he declared an emergency. The plane traveled three more miles before radio and radar contact was lost, said Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Joe Catalano.

Authorities said the plane may have experienced mechanical difficulties.

"Apparently it was engine trouble," said King County police spokesman Lt. Frank Atchley. The pilot "put out over the radio that he was losing one engine."

The first major snowstorm of the season hit the Cascades Saturday, bringing nine inches of new snow to some areas along with strong winds. An emergency locator beacon led searchers to the vicinity of the crash, but they were not able to find the wreckage until the weather broke.

King County Police said crews would continue working today, and possibly tomorrow, to retrieve the bodies from the wreckage.

Friends described Huber as active in WSU as well as the University of Washington sports program.

A 1966 WSU graduate in geography, Huber took a second degree in business administration in 1970. Active in the WSU Foundation's board of trustees since its beginning in 1979, Huber had been a board member at least six years, a WSU spokesman said.

Diana Huber became an "adopted Cougar," since she had not graduated from WSU. That made her eligible for a three-year term on the foundation's board of trustees, which she began serving this fall, said Stan Schmid, WSU vice president for university affairs.

The Hubers were recently named benefactors, a status given to those who contribute more than $100,000.

Jerry Schei and Jim Huber had been short-term business partners and longtime friends who shared an interest in flying. Schei operated a single-engine float plane, friends said.

Many remember him for his attempts to sell yachts despite a sluggish economy. Among the more recent of his business partnerships was Malibu Charters Inc. Five partners purchased the 107-foot M.V. Malibu and the 97-foot Olympus to launch a charter operation.

Schei graduated from WSU in 1966 with a degree in biology. He was a WSU Foundation board member in the 1980s, active in fund-raising, Schmid said.

"More important than the money . . . they were extremely close to the institution. They believed in Washington State," Schmid said. "People here are just stunned and deeply saddened by this unfortunate accident."

-- Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.