At 18:56 PST, a Mooney M20K crashed about 1 miles from the departure end of runway 29 at Pendleton. The pilot and passenger were killed. The pilot was flying from Billings, Mont., to Cresswell, Ore., and had landed at Pendleton for fuel. While on approach to Pendleton, he had reported encountering icing conditions. The pilot borrowed a wheel chock from the refueler and, according to the refueler, started pounding the leading edges of the wings and vertical stabilizer. After finishing the vertical stabilizer, he made the comment that his airplane was now deiced. The refueler stated that about a half inch of somewhat moist snow had accumulated on the wings of the airplane prior to the time he fueled it. The tower controller said that after he lost sight of the airplane and handed it off to Departure, the pilot radioed, Mayday, mayday, were going in.
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