Spokane pilot dies, sons survive in plane crash north of Elk River

On Wednesday at about 11: 40 a.m., the Clearwater County Sheriff's Office received a report from the Idaho Division of Aeronautics that there was an emergency beacon from a plane going off about five miles north of Elk River.

Deputies and EMS (emergency medical services) were dispatched to the area of the beacon. Hillcrest Aviation had a helicopter in Orofino that had just completed some contract work and was available to respond to the area. While enroute to the scene, a 911 call came in from someone that had picked up two people along Basin Rd. that had been passengers in the plane. The caller transported them to Elk River to meet with EMS, according to Sheriff Chris Goetz.

Two Life Flight helicopters were then requested to respond to Elk River. The two passengers reported that the plane had crashed and was on fire. They could not get the pilot, their father, out of the plane due to the fire. The pilot was Brian Orourk, 54, Spokane, Wash. and the passengers were his 21 and 14-year-old sons. Both of the sons were transported to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane by Life Flight, Goetz reported.

The Hillcrest helicopter was able to locate the crash scene, but there was nowhere nearby to land. The Sheriff's Office then requested a helicopter from Two Bear Air so they could hoist someone into the crash scene. Hillcrest remained on scene to help guide a Deputy and EMS 3.5 miles into the crash scene on foot. Life Flight staged a second helicopter at the Elk River air strip. EMS and the Deputy arrived at the crash site and found that the pilot was deceased. They used a fire extinguisher that they had packed in to put out the fire, Goetz said.

The plane was a small single-engine Cessna. The crash is still being investigated by the Sheriff's Office and NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board).