An Independence man died and his wife was left with life-threatening injuries after their plane crashed Aug. 21 on Richardson Gap Road, just east of Scio.
Fire and Medical personnel from the Scio Rural Fire Department, and neighbors in the area who witnessed the crash, were among the first on scene. Deputies from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office were on scene moments later, where they discovered the pilot of the airplane, Dennis Jackson, 78, was deceased.
The second occupant, Dennis’s wife, Amy Jackson, was transported from the scene by LifeFlight Air Ambulance to Salem Memorial Hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The aircraft, listed as an Experimental Amateur Built Aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration, is described as a “Dennis Jackson RV-8” single-engine airplane, manufactured in 2004.
The crash scene was secured overnight by Linn County Sheriff’s Office deputies. Detectives from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office were joined the next day by investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration to complete the investigation.
