Hobaugh dies in lower 48 crash

Associated Press reports that a pilot killed in a plane crash in Callaway County, Missouri, on Tuesday the 22nd, was identified as 31 year old Jared Hobaugh, part time resident of Talkeetna.

Hobaugh was employed this past season as a mechanic’s helper for K2 Aviation in Talkeetna. Suzanne Rust, owner of K2, says he started in May and had left for the season. She said she was deeply saddened by the tragic event and her thoughts go out to Jared’s family.

The news passed quickly around Talkeetna late Tuesday and early Wednesday as K2 and others in Talkeetna were notified of his death.

His uncle, Steve Clark, said his nephew was on his way to Wichita, Kansas from Pennsylvania, where he had purchased a 1947 Piper single engine plane. Witnesses said they saw the plane circle several times before hearing it hit the ground. The crash occurred in a pasture 5 miles east of the Columbia Regional Airport.

News releases from Kansas reported that he had planned to fly the plane to Alaska.

FAA officials are continuing their investigation into the accident.