Ex-GOP Chairwoman Dies In Plane Crash

SILVER CITY, N.M. (AP) — Authorities have identified a Silver City woman who died in the crash of a small plane in Gila National Forest.

New Mexico State Police said 74-year-old Linda Pecotte was pronounced dead at the scene of Friday's crash south of Reserve.

Pecotte's two passengers were injured and airlifted to a hospital. Their names, ages and conditions weren't immediately released by authorities.

The Albuquerque Journal reported Sunday that Pecotte was a former chairwoman of the Grant County Republican Party.

An online profile showed that Pecotte was a real estate agent in Silver City at the time of her death.

State Police said officers responded around 11:15 a.m. Friday to reports of a downed airplane in the area of Sheep Basin in the southwestern New Mexico forest.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the crash.