Search launched in Okanogan County for missing plane with two people on board
Oct 11, 2026, 12:52 PM | Updated: 12:58 pm
The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service via Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service via Flickr Creative Commons)
Authorities launched a search for a missing small plane Saturday, that may have disappeared while flying over northeast Washington state.
The Washington State Department of Transportation coordinated a search using planes and a helicopter to find a 1976 Piper Cub.
The search is near U.S. 97, near Okanogan.
The pilot lost contact with Seattle Center air traffic control Saturday evening.
Radar showed its last location between Oroville and Okanogan.
The pilot’s daughter also contacted the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office to report the aircraft missing.
The Colville Confederated Tribes are assisting with a search on the ground.
The plane took off from Penticton, British Columbia, in the central area of the Canadian province. It was due to land at an airport in north-central Idaho, near the city of Grangeville.
The daughter reported the missing aircraft Saturday evening.
Air search and rescue teams immediately began looking near the aircraft’s last known radar locations.
Crews also tried using cell phone forensics to help identify potential search areas.
Authorities say they have not detected any distress signals.
Search and rescue operations continued on Sunday.
Authorities say an aircraft is following helicopter flights through the area.
Department of Transportation officials ask anyone who thinks they saw or heard the plane Saturday night to call the State Emergency Operations Center at (800) 258-5990.
They are not asking volunteers to help out with air or land searches at this time.
Washington state law requires the Department of Transportation to coordinate and manage all aerial searches in the state.
