Float plane crash in Wash. state kills 2

Charter flight carrying 5 plunges into lake northeast of Seattle

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updated 1:42 a.m. ET May 18, 2008

STEHEKIN, Wash. - Two people were killed Saturday when a float plane carrying five people crashed into Lake Chelan in the North Cascades, authorities said.

Three people survived the crash of the single-engine DeHavilland Beaver, which went down about 15 minutes after takeoff from the town of Chelan, said FAA spokesman Mike Fergus.

The charter plane, owned by Chelan Airways, was reported to be underwater and upside down.

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Those killed were a woman and a man, said Jeff Middleton, chief criminal deputy for the Chelan County sheriff's department.

The male pilot and a female passenger were taken to a hospital in Chelan, and the fifth person, a 16-year-old girl, was unhurt, he said.

Their names were not released.

The crash occurred in the resort community of Stehekin at the north end of Lake Chelan. It's accessible only by boat or float plane or by hiking in through North Cascades National Park. it's about 90 miles northeast of Seattle.