Found Deceased WA - George Regis, 63, last seen departing Grove Field Airport, Camas, Clark County, 25 Jan 2019

[PommyMommy]

Eliot Glacier is on the north side of Mt. Hood which is SE of Grove Field Airport. How did his phone ping in the Newberg/Dundee area - SW of the airport - almost three hours away from Eliot Glacier? Google Maps

 

[cybervampira]

Hood River Co. Sheriff's Office news

Single Engine Plane Crash, Mount Hood - 01/29/19

Mount Hood, Ore. - The Hood River County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the presence of a downed plane on Mount Hood, with the sole occupant confirmed deceased. The tale number of the aircraft matches that of a missing Clark County resident who was last seen departing a Camas airfield on January 25, 2019.

63-year-old George Regis of Battle Ground, Washington was reported missing by his wife on the 28th, having been last seen on January 25, 2019, as he departed a Camas airfield en route to Arizona. He was believed to be the sole occupant of the aircraft, a four-person, single engine plane.

On January 29, 2019 the Hood River County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office of new information regarding the flight path of Regis’ plane. Civil Air Patrol (CAP) was able locate a signal from the planes emergency locator and eventually narrow down the location of the signal to the area of Eliot Glacier, on the north side of Mount Hood. At approximately 3:14 PM a fix-wing CAP pilot was able to visually confirm the tail number as belonging to the aircraft of George Regis. At 3:22 PM, an Oregon Air National Guard helicopter crew was able to also confirm the tail number, as well as the presence of a decedent.

A recovery operation will commence in the morning, on Wednesday January 30, 2019. Teams will consist of members of the Hood River Crag Rats, Oregon Air National Guard’s 125th Special Tactics Squadron and the Air Force Reserve Command’s 304th Rescue Squadron.

Mr. Regis’ family has been notified and are requesting privacy while they mourn his loss.

 

[GraceG]

This is pretty much what I had guessed. The only way you fly into Mt. Hood (controlled flight into terrain - CFIT) is if you are in the clouds or greatly reduced visibility. He did not hold an instrument rating to fly in the clouds or reduced visibility. He probably thought he was on a course that would have him at a safe altitude from other terrain but miscalculated. One of the flight instructors candidates I trained with in that area ended up crashed on the side of Mt. Adams in a similar situation back in the late 70's. Had that young man been 30 degrees off his course he would have flown past the mountain. I'm truly sorry for Mr. Regis's family but happy he did not have passengers with him.