A plane carrying two Washington cousins crashed at a remote airstrip near West Glacier after colliding with trees while attempting to take off, a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board said.

Both men died in the crash.

On the cloudless morning of Saturday, July 26, Dwight Steffanson, 69, from College Place, Washington, and Thomas Gladden, 68, from Otis Orchards, Washington, hopped in a Grumman AA-5 plane at Ryan Field.

Steffanson was a skilled metalworker, train enthusiast, contra dance fan and active community member with a passion for flying, according to an article published in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin. He volunteered much of his time helping maintain a display 99-year-old Union Pacific steam locomotive, adorning it with thousands of bright lights each

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