Federal investigators are now looking into what caused a small plane on a firefighting mission for the Oregon Department of Forestry to crash in eastern Jackson County at about 6:30 P.M. Friday.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the single-engine Cessna 206, built-in 1964, with tail number N5152U made a hard landing east of Rustler Peak, a 6,000-foot mountain 12 miles southeast of Prospect.
"Neither of the two people on board was injured," Ian Gregor, Public Affair Manager for the FAA said. "The crew was conducting a fire-spotting flight when the incident occurred."
Gregor said the cause of the crash was a "possible engine malfunction."
"The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate. Neither (agency) identify people involved in aircraft accidents," Gregor said.