IDAHO CITY, ID — A Boise man died at the Forest Service airstrip in Idaho City when his plane crashed on Friday morning, the chief deputy coroner for Boise County said.
Kevin Yagues, 63, of Boise, died of blunt force trauma at the scene, Chief Deputy Coroner Mike Johnson told the Idaho Statesman. The incident occurred at 10:18 a.m., Johnson said, and Yagues died on impact.
Boise County Sheriff Scott Turner told the Statesman that Yagues was the only person aboard. He had flown from Caldwell to Idaho City, Turner said, and was taking off to return when his plane crashed. The plane was small and only had one engine, Turner said.
The cause is unclear, but the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating as is the National Transportation Safety Board, he said.
Melissa Potts, director of operations for the East Boise County Ambulance District, said she responded to the airstrip after the crash. She heard it, because the airstrip, at the end of Wall Street, is about half a block from her station. “It sounded almost like thunder off in the distance,” she said.
Yagues owned a 2006 GlaStar plane manufactured by Stoddard-Hamilton Aircraft, according to the FAA’s registry. He operated an auto parts business in Boise called Auto Spring Corporation and Auto Spring Kits, according to his LinkedIn profile and records filed with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.
