NORTH BEND, Wash. -- More information is expected to be released Thursday about the three people killed in a small plane crash in North Bend.
While authorities have yet to officially identify the victims, KING 5 has learned the two men killed were swim coaches at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. They were not county employees.
The King County Sheriff's Office confirms two men and a woman died when their single-engine four-seater Cessna 172 crashed into Big Si around 2 a.m. Wednesday.
"We're basically in recovery mode right now," said King County Sheriff's Spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West. "We had hoped that somebody would be found alive up there at the scene. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened."
Around 2 a.m., sheriff's deputies on patrol in the area reported hearing what they described as two trains colliding. Shortly after, 911 calls came pouring in from neighbors, who said they heard a plane engine sputtering near Mount Si Road, then an explosion.
"I heard it crash into a sheer cliff, and indeed that's what's up there," said Terry Jensen, North Bend resident. "It's a tragedy."
The Federal Aviation Administration picked up a signal from the plane's electronic locator trasmitter, which helped sheriff's deputies pinpoint where the plane went down.
By following the plane's emergency beacon, which was triggered in the crash, King County search pilots spotted the wreckage around 3 a.m. in steep and rough terrain, about 2,000 feet high on Mount Si.
"From Guardian One, personnel said it didn't look like the crash was survivable," said Capt. Kent Baxter, King County Sheriff's Office.
Once sheriff's crews and volunteers recover the bodies from the plane, the FAA and the NTSB wo;; take over the investigation into the cause the crash, said West.
As for why someone would be flying around 2 in the morning, pilots said it's not uncommon.
"It's not unusual. We in sheriff's office are out usually flying most of the night, we see quite a few aircrafts," said a King County sheriff's pilot.
Mount Si is a 4,200-foot peak, popular with climbers and hikers, about 30 miles east of Seattle. Trailheads on both Mount Si and Little Si are closed during the airplane crash investigation, the Department of Natural Resources announced.
KING 5's Natalie Swaby and Teresa Yuan contributed to this report.
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