HELENA – Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office deputies continued to interview witnesses Thursday as they investigated a small plane crash that left two men critically injured Wednesday.
Sheriff Wynn Meehan said both men were from Gallatin County and in their mid-30s. One of the men was flown to Helena, then transferred to a hospital in Salt Lake City for treatment. The other was taken to Great Falls. Meehan did not have an update on their conditions.
Meehan said the plane took off from Belgrade around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, then landed briefly at an airstrip near Townsend before taking off again. It hit power lines and crashed near the Hahn Ranch, about two miles south of Townsend. Northwestern Energy crews reported finding the plane while looking for the cause of a power outage.
Meehan said the National Transportation Safety Board will be investigating the crash.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration’s website, the plane, a Cessna 180, was registered to Kestrel Leasing, LLC, a company in Belgrade.
