A couple from Vermont flying in a small float plane crashed into the side of the Bigelow Mountain Range this morning, just north of Carrabassett Valley.  Both escaped injury, hiked up the mountain approximately one-half mile and then walked out of the woods along the Appalachian Trail.  A team of games wardens, forest rangers, state troopers, and first responders from Eustis, Kingfield and Carrabassett Valley responded to the crash site, located in Wyman Township.

The float plane was owned and piloted from Frank Gibney of Colchester, Vermont.  His passenger was Diane Muhr, also from the same town, according to the news release from the Maine Dept. of Public Safety. Both are in their mid-60s. Gibney told troopers he was flying alongside another plane, which was piloted by a friend, when he lost visibility because of weather, and his float plane crashed into trees.  The friend notified the Maine Warden Service Office in Greenville.  The crash took place about 10:30 a.m.

A Maine Forest Service helicopter helped transport first responders closer to the crash site. 

The couple was flying into the Greenville Seaplane Fly-In, which attracts hundreds of planes to the area. The crash will be investigated by the FAA, which will send an investigator to the site.