Missing airplane with 2 reporters on board may have been flying too low

Missing plane was reportedly flying too low

MOIESE, Mont. — Authorities say the pilot of a small aircraft gone missing during a sightseeing trip in northwestern Montana may have been flying too low when the plane was last seen near the Flathead River.

Federal Aviation Administration radar data put the 1968 Piper single-engine aircraft’s altitude at 300 feet when it was last tracked west of the National Bison Range on Sunday.

Lake County sheriff’s spokeswoman Carey Cooley says several witnesses report it may have been flying even lower than that.

FAA spokesman Mike Fergus says the minimum altitude is 500 feet.

Two reporters for the Daily Inter Lake newspaper of Kalispell were aboard the plane along with the pilot and another man.