Plane crash leaves 1 dead, 1 injured
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LAKE COUNTY –
A Pablo man injured in a Lake County plane crash last week had been transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit of Harborview Medical Center in Seattle as of Monday morning.
Hospital officials listed Tim Schauss in satisfactory condition.
Schauss sustained serious injuries when a plane he was a passenger in crashed south of Polson and west of Pablo near Back Road on Dec. 16.
Schauss is owner of Pablo Family Foods. Schauss was originally taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center but was transferred to Seattle over the weekend.
The pilot of the plane, Brett Thoft, 33, died at the scene. Thoft ran an aviation business in Wasilla, Alaska, but was originally from Lake County.
Thoft’s body was transported to the State Crime Lab in Missoula per Federal Aviation Administration requirements.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Karen Sargeant said the plane did not have a flight plan and that the pair were up in the air sight seeing at the time of the crash. The flight originated in the Ronan Airport.
Rough terrain complicated emergency response. Responding to the scene of the crash were Ronan Fire Department, Ronan Ambulance, Polson Ambulance, Montana Highway Patrol, Polson Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Coroner and the Lake County Search and Rescue Unit.
The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the incident. Reports usually takes weeks or months to complete.
