A well-known Santa Barbara couple — Carl and Joanne Lindros — are believed to have been killed over the weekend in a plane crash in Idaho.
Idaho County Sheriff Doug Giddings told the Lewiston Tribune that the Lindroses died Sunday morning when the single-engine Lancair IV aircraft they were flying in went down a few miles from the town of Kooskia in west-central Idaho.
The Lindroses, both 83, were believed to have been traveling from Montana to Sacramento when the plane crashed for unknown reasons, Giddings told the Tribune.
The plane apparently burst into flames and was destroyed on impact at about 10:40 a.m.
The accident was first reported as a lightning fire on a ridge, shortly after a severe thunderstorm moved through the area, according to Skip Brandt, an Idaho County commissioner who responded to the scene.
“That storm is what took the aircraft down,” Brandt told Noozhawk. “I have been an area pilot for 40 years. The Lindroses would have just crossed the rocky Selway-Bitteroot Mountains, and would have been forced to get down low along the Clearwater River canyon in order to avoid the violent storm above, as it would have torn the wings off.
“The problem of flying low is visibility and the horrendous rain showers being produced by the storm. In the end, he flew up one of the narrow ravines and could not get out.”
Local fire departments were dispatched to the scene, where the wreckage was discovered.
“They crashed, and there was not much left but bits and pieces,” Giddings told the Tribune. “We’re not sure how many were in the plane; it was pretty shattered.”
Personnel from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board both responded to the scene to investigate the crash.
The Idaho County Coroner was sending the remains for autopsy, according to the Sheriff’s Department.
Carl Lindros was president of Santa Barbara Securities, which has offices on the 700 block of Garden Street in Santa Barbara.
The Lindroses were active in local nonprofit organizations, particularly the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, where Carl Lindros previously had served as president.
Victoria Juarez, president and CEO of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, issued the following statement regarding the Lindroses’ passings:
“We were shocked and saddened to learn of the untimely deaths of Carl and Jo Lindros. Carl was a beloved and influential supporter of the Scholarship Foundation for more than five decades, serving on the organization’s board of directors from 1969 to 1986, and as board president in 1985-86.
“A founding member of the board’s Investment Committee, Carl was instrumental in building the foundation’s endowment. Ever committed to the Scholarship Foundation, he was a member of our Investment Committee at the time of his death. This organization and the wider Santa Barbara Community have lost a generous and visionary leader.”
Alan Griffin, senior vice president at Raymond James and Associates in Santa Barbara, knew Carl Lindros through professional associations and the Scholarship Foundation.
“I was shocked to learn of Carl and Joanne Lindros’ untimely deaths,” Griffin told Noozhawk. “During my 42 years as a financial adviser in Santa Barbara, our paths often crossed, but it was our time together on the Scholarship Foundation board that I really got to know Carl.
“When I became board president, Carl was someone I could count on for advice and counsel. Although he retired from the board in 1986, his involvement continued as a member of the Investment Committee and committed supporter. He will be missed.”
Janet Garufis, president and CEO of Montecito Bank & Trust, also worked with Carl Lindros through the Scholarship Foundation, and spoke of him and his wife in glowing terms.
“Carl and Jo have been such important members of this community for such a long time,” Garufis said. “Carl especially has provided leadership in so many ways to so many organizations. I am so saddened to hear this, and I think it’s a real loss to the community.”
Garufis added that Lindros “always had something worthwhile to contribute. He was one of the last great ones among a whole generation of philanthropists and community leaders.”
Lindros also was currently serving on the board of trustees for the UCSB Foundation.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
