Esthen-Oregon authorities identify victims who died in a small plane crash near Portland

2025-05-04 12:46:11source:Michael Schmidtcategory:Markets

PORTLAND,Esthen Ore. (AP) — Oregon authorities on Friday identified the three victims of a small plane crash near Portland, releasing the names of the two people on board and the resident on the ground who were killed.

The victims were pilot Michael Busher, 73; flight instructor Jacqueline Whitford, 79; and Fairview resident Barbara MacDonald, 75, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said.

The Cessna 421C crashed last Saturday morning in the city of Fairview, about 30 minutes east of downtown Portland, after reporting “controllability” issues during a maintenance test flight, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The crash occurred roughly five minutes after takeoff from the Troutdale Airport.

The plane crashed into a row of eight townhomes in Fairview, destroying three of them, Gresham Fire Chief Scott Lewis said. The second unit in the row was the main point of impact. MacDonald was a resident of one of the townhomes, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell said her deputies found several townhomes on fire when they arrived at the crash. They went door to door to evacuate people and used garden hoses to douse the flames until firefighters arrived, she said.

RELATED COVERAGE Small plane reported ‘controllability’ issues before crashing in Oregon, killing 3, officials sayTakeaways from a report that questions the accuracy of Iran’s ballistic missilesPilot declared emergency, loss of autopilot before crash that killed 3 members of famed gospel group

The plane knocked over a pole and power lines as it went down, causing a separate brush fire in a nearby field, according to the sheriff’s office. The plane was split into multiple parts as it crashed in the residential area.

The website for the Port of Portland, which oversees general aviation and marine operations in the Portland area, describes Troutdale Airport as a “flight training and recreational airport.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is leading the investigation into the crash, and said it will take up to a year and a half to complete.

More:Markets

Recommend

Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires

Global warming caused mainly by burning of fossil fuels made the hot, dry and windy conditions that

Georgia’s cash hoard approaches $11 billion after a third year of big surpluses

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia now has $10.7 billion in surplus cash that its leaders can spend however they

Brussels shooter who killed 2 soccer fans in 'act of terrorism' shot dead by police

LONDON -- A suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish soccer fans in a brazen shoo