TWO SURVIVE AIRPLANE CRASH.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

ODELL LAKE - The pilot and passenger of a single-engine plane that crashed into a heavily wooded mountainside west of Odell Lake were rescued Tuesday with only minor injuries, officials said.

The aircraft carrying pilot Justin John Hall, 21, of Eugene, and passenger Joshua Penn Stohr, 24, of Eugene, had taken off from Eugene Airport on Monday evening. It developed engine trouble as it approached the Crescent Lake airport on the eastern slope of the Cascades.

"That rough-running engine got worse, and they ended up crashing into some very thick timber and deep snow," Klamath County Sheriff Tim Evinger said. "The airplane was a complete loss, including a wing ripped off it. Rescuers commented that it was miraculous that anybody survived the accident."

Hall and Stohr both suffered facial cuts, and Hall complained of a back injury. Hall may have been unconscious for a time. Both were in fair condition Tuesday night.

Both men were taken to St. Charles Medical Center in Bend for treatment. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were interviewing them there.

According to FAA records, Hall received his commercial pilot's license for single-engine aircraft in January. He also is licensed to privately fly multiengine planes.

Stohr is also a licensed pilot of single-engine planes, and a certified flight instructor.

The men's Piper Cherokee crashed in Lane County, about 10 miles west of Odell Lake. But rescuers at first had trouble finding the wreck.

Initial reports received around 7 p.m. Monday indicated that a plane might have crashed near Davis Lake, which is northeast of Odell Lake and in both Klamath and Deschutes counties, said Chief Deputy Chris Montenaro of the Klamath County Sheriff's Office.

Oregon State Police and U.S. Forest Service personnel headed that way. But by about 8:30 p.m., signals from the plane's emergency locator system were indicating that the wreck was closer to Odell Lake.

Two hours later, an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter equipped with infrared radar spotted the wreckage west of Odell. The crew saw two people using flashlights to signal for help, Montenaro said.

Enough supplies were dropped to help the men survive the night and, early Tuesday, 16 rescuers from Klamath, Lane and Deschutes counties made a four-hour trek by snowmobile toward the crash site. When the terrain became too rough, the rescuers strapped on snowshoes and skis to cover the final two miles, Montenaro said.

About 11 a.m. Tuesday, two National Guard Blackhawk helicopters hoisted Hall and Stohr from the site and transported them to the hospital.

"It doesn't usually end like this," Montenaro said. "I've got to believe that striking the trees absorbed a lot more of the energy than if they had slammed directly into the side of the mountain."

Hall recently graduated from a flight program at Lane Community College and wants to work as a pilot, said Colin McCall, who shares an apartment with Hall in Eugene.

McCall said Hall has more than 500 flying hours. McCall said he has yet to fly with Hall, but doesn't doubt his friend's skill. ``I trust him when it comes to flying, definitely; he's the most responsible person.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report