Plane crash owner??

News said prominent (sp?) dentist and mentioned him by name. Sucks if true.

BUTTE, Mont. – Three California families headed to a retreat for the ultrarich were among the 14 victims of a plane crash in Montana.

Seven children, all 9 or younger, were among those killed Sunday in Butte as their families were traveling to the Yellowstone Club near Yellowstone National Park for a skiing vacation.

Family members said the victims were Erin and Amy Jacobson of St. Helena, Calif., and their children, 4-year-old Taylor; 3-year-old Ava, and 1-year-old Jude; Michael and Vanessa Pullen of Lodi, Calif., and their children, 9-year-old Sydney and 7-year-old Christopher; Brent and Kristen Ching of Durham, Calif., and their children, 5-year-old Heyley and 4-year-old Caleb; and the pilot, Buddy Summerfield.

Bud Feldkamp, who leased the airplane, says Amy Jacobson and Vanessa Pullen were his daughters, and that Brent Ching was the son of club member Bob Ching.

Sorry about the double post. I was at work and my daughter called and said she just read it on Yahoo. I told her I posted a topic on here last night about it, to just find that topic and post what she read. I see there is a new thread from this morning talking about it. So my bad.

By RICHARD BROOKS
The Press-Enterprise

The victims of a Montana plane crash were members of three California families traveling to the exclusive Yellowstone Club for a skiing vacation.

"We were going on a vacation with all the grandkids," said Redlands businessman/dentist Irving "Bud" Feldkamp III , who lost two daughters and their families in the crash. "They were all excited about skiing."

Feldkamp leased the airplane that crashed Sunday in Butte. He said he, his wife and another daughter had driven to Montana for the vacation.

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Liam Savage / Special to The Press-Enterprise
The small plane that crashed Sunday in Montana is seen as it approaches the Redlands Municipal Airport Saturday afternoon prior to heading to Northern California early Sunday.
"We were at the entrance to the Yellowstone Club when I got a cell phone call" from my nephew, Feldkamp said. "He saw it on CNN. He said, 'Nobody survived.' And we knew it was our plane."

Feldkamp spoke with The Associated Press shortly after he, his wife and two children along with Bob Ching and his wife spent about 45 minutes at the crash site.

Buddy Feldkamp said the victims included his sisters Amy Jacobson of St. Helena, and Vanessa Pullen of Lodi. Jacobson's husband, Erin, and their children Taylor, 4; Ava, 3; Jude, 1, also died in the crash as did Pullen's husband, Michael, and their children Sydney, 9, and Christopher, 7.

Buddy Feldkamp said Bob Ching' son, Brent Ching, of Durham, was killed in the crash along with his wife, Kristen and their children, Heyley, 5 and Caleb, 4.

Vanessa Pullen was a pediatrician, Michael Pullen was a dentist, Erin Jacobson was an opthalmologist and Amy Jacobson was a dental hygienist. Brent Ching was an orthopedic surgeon.

Buddy Feldkamp identified the pilot as Buddy Summerfield.

The Yellowstone Club, near Yellowstone National Park, is a millionaires-only resort that counts former Vice President Dan Quayle and Microsoft founder Bill Gates among its 340 members.

Bud Feldkamp owns the plane, according to federal aviation records and family friends.

"I flew for Bud Feldkamp for 15 years. Bud is president of Eagle Cap Leasing," said longtime Redlands Municipal Airport pilot John Krueger.

Eagle Cap Leasing is the firm listed in Federal Aviation Administration records as the registered owner of the Pilatus PC12.

"It came in Saturday and landed," Krueger said. "It's a beautiful airplane."

The single-engine turboprop took off Sunday from Redlands and flew to Oroville, Calif., where it reportedly picked passengers.

Former San Bernardino County Supervisor Dennis Hansberger said this morning that he was aware that the plane that crashed belonged to Feldkamp.

"The Feldkamps live two doors from us," said Hansberger. "I've known Bud for a long time. It's an awful tragedy."

Hansberger said he's very familiar with the plane, the tail number of which is listed in FAA records as the one that crashed.

"It had been at San Bernardino International Airport for several years," Hansberger said. "I'm told that four or five months ago, it was moved to Redlands."

Jim Ott, of Redlands Aviation, said confirmed that Eagle Cap leasing has a hangar at Redlands.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

--Richard Brooks

Just posted at 2pm