COEUR d’ALENE, Idaho – On Thursday, the Lincoln County Coroner identified two men who suffered fatal injuries in a helicopter crash on Wednesday, June 19 in a field near Davenport, Washington. One of the men was identified as 63-year-old Dr. Mark Manteuffel, MD, a pillar of the Coeur d’Alene community, the other was Ryan Sandvig, 68, of Spokane.
According to Lincoln County Fire District 6, the crash occurred north of Bluestem and Linstrum Roads around 4:30 p.m., with fire crews at the scene reporting it was a privately owned helicopter that crashed, creating a small fire that was quickly contained.
A preliminary report of the crash is expected within 30 days, however, officials say a probable cause of the crash will likely take one to two years.
Dr. Manteuffel spent his career serving Kootenai County as an emergency room physician at Kootenai Health. At the time of his tragic accident, Dr. Manteuffel was an active member of the Coeur d’Alene Flyers and provided pilots with flight physicals as a senior Aviation Medical Examiner with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Warren Keene, a long-time friend and former Kootenai County Coroner who worked with Manteuffel in the emergency room shared that above all else, “Mark was a dedicated husband and family man and he took this same dedication to work every day.”
“Mark took his faith with him everywhere he went and this showed in the care he had for his patients,” stated Keene who remembers several mission trips taken by Manteuffel to Haiti in efforts to bring medical aid and hope to the Haitian community. “He truly enjoyed serving the underprivileged.”
Many in the community became aware of the tragic loss when Mike Kincaid of Coeur d’Alene Flyers created a post on the group’s Facebook page with a picture and short message, “Devastated about the loss of a good friend, great doctor, excellent pilot, and just an all around wonderful person.”
Kincaid’s post drew numerous comments where condolences and remembrances were expressed.
“So many great memories Mark … Will never forget his kindness and expertise in caring for my wife during a couple of serious issues and also for my 100+ year old mother at Kootenai Health Emergency Room over the years. Then there was a great trip transporting Mark, his neighbor friend and son up into BC for that bear hunting adventure. And of course all of his professional attention to FAA Medical issues. Always busy! Man, we will all miss Mark Manteuffel. The entire CDA Aviation Community is grieving. He will surely be missed by all of us,” shared John Dixon of Hayden.
“Awfully hard to think he’s gone, my heart goes out to his family. What a loss to everyone who knew him, our KCOE community will most certainly miss him,” stated Frank O’Connell.
Rocco Capone added, “Mark was a treasure and an asset to the aviation community. He was a genuinely nice person. Very sad!”
The Manteuffel family is understandably in shock and disbelief at this time, but have expressed immense gratitude for the strong support and love of the community.
Memorial arrangements for Dr. Manteuffel are expected to be announced soon.
