1 Dead As Peninsula Plane Crashes In Oregon

MENLO PARK, CA — A home-built plane registered to a Menlo Park man crashed Saturday afternoon in an Oregon canyon, federal aviation and central Oregon emergency management officials said. The fixed-wing, single-engine Wheeler Express crashed at about 2 p.m. in Willow Creek Canyon in Madras, Oregon, where people were gathering to watch Monday's solar eclipse.

No one from the Jefferson County medical examiner's office was immediately available to say who died in the crash. County emergency officials said only one person was on board.

FAA spokesman Keith Holloway said the Menlo Park man's plane went down about 1.5 miles south of Madras Municipal Airport. The plane crashed on approach, Holloway said.

Flames engulfed the plane and it was completely destroyed, according to emergency officials. The flames started a small fire that was quickly extinguished.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash.

— By Bay City News Service / Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone