NEAR ST. IGNATIUS — Three people died in when a small plane crashed in Lake County on Thursday afternoon.
According to Lake County Sheriff Don Bell, authorities received a report of a plane crash near St. Ignatius at around 4 p.m.
The incident occurred near Pistol Creek Road.
The crash is being investigated, but Bell said they believe the plane hit a power line.
The occupants, who were not from Montana, were flying into the area to visit friends, according to Bell.
Their names have not yet been released.
Responding agencies included, among others, the Lake County Sheriff's Office, the Montana Highway Patrol, and Mission Valley Ambulance.
We will update you as we get more information.
(UPDATE, AUGUST 30) Lake County Sheriff Don Bell has released the names of the three men who died when a small plane crashed on Thursday near St. Ignatius.
The men, all from Evansville, Indiana, have been identified as Timothy R. Arnold (59 years old), Allen K. Eicher (65), and Grant O. Weythman (49).
The men were flying into the area to visit friends, according to Sheriff Bell.
Sheriff Bell says that it appears the single-engine Beechcraft plane hit a power line, and then crashed upside-down in a hay field. The property owner's backhoe was used to tip the plane in order to allow emergency personnel to recover the bodies.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are continuing to investigate the crash.
