{"id":7516,"date":"2026-01-29T09:36:47","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=7516"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:36:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:36:47","slug":"a-routine-flight-ended-in-heartbreak-when-a-beloved-cbs-meteorologist-was-killed-after-his-plane-plunged-into-an-icy-river-leaving-a-community-in-shock-and-mourning-known-for-his-warm-smile-and-fam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/?p=7516","title":{"rendered":"A routine flight ended in heartbreak when a beloved CBS meteorologist was killed after his plane plunged into an icy river, leaving a community in shock and mourning. Known for his warm smile and familiar presence on screen, Steadham was more than a weather expert\u2014he was a husband, a father of six, and a proud grandfather whose life revolved around family. The news hit harder as details emerged about his final moments, especially his last words before takeoff\u2014simple, loving, and painfully human\u2014words that now echo with devastating weight. In an instant, a trusted voice went silent, leaving behind a wife, children, grandchildren, and countless viewers struggling to process how someone so constant could be gone so suddenly… FULL STORY BELOW \ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47\ud83d\udc47"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/ins>A beloved veteran CBS meteorologist and father was killed in a plane crash after his aircraft clipped a power line and plummeted into an icy river in rural Idaho.<\/p>\n

Roland Steadham, 67, chief meteorologist at Boise-based CBS affiliate CBS2, was one of two people killed in Tuesday\u2019s plane crash on the Payette River near Emmett, Idaho.<\/p>\n

Online flight data show the plane lost contact at 10:55 a.m., just 12 minutes after takeoff from Emmett Airport.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\"Roland
4 Experienced meteorologist Roland Steadham has died in a plane crash at age 67.YouTube \/ Plane Crazy Channel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cPreliminary information indicates that a small plane clipped a power line and crashed upon the ice in the river,\u201d the Gem County Sheriff\u2019s Office said in a\u00a0statement on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Rescue teams were seen out in a boat on the freezing cold water in pictures\u00a0shared by Idaho6 News.<\/p>\n

The identity of the other man on board the aircraft was not immediately released, and no further details about the plane model \u2014 registered to Northwest Registered Agent LLC \u2014 or the circumstances of the crash were available.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Steadham was \u201cwidely respected as an accomplished pilot,\u201d and \u201coperated a small aircraft out of Emmett,\u201d\u00a0CBS2 reported\u00a0in an article announcing the tragic news.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t known if he was piloting the aircraft at the time of the crash.<\/p>\n

An experienced pilot with more than 3,000 flight hours under his belt, Steadham visited students at Payette River Regional Technical Academy\u2019s aviation class in Emmett just a week before his untimely death to talk about his passion.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Recovery
4 The plane he was in reportedly clipped a power line before crashing into an icy river in rural Idaho.KIVI-TV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\n
\n
\"The
4 Another man in the plane at the time was killed.KIVI-TV<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe last thing he said before leaving class was, \u2018I\u2019ve enjoyed years of flying \u2026 it\u2019s been so good to me \u2026 and I\u2019d really encourage you guys to pursue aviation,\u2019\u201d teacher Jim Baker told Idaho6 News.<\/p>\n

Also an avid skydiver, Steadham graduated from both Brigham Young University and the University of Utah.<\/p>\n

He worked at several different outlets as chief meteorologist, including Miami-based NBC affiliate WTVJ, CBS affiliate KUTV in Salt Lake City, ABC affiliate KTVX also in Salt Lake City, and finally CBS2 in Boise.<\/p>\n

Shocked viewers in Idaho paid tribute to Steadham.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"CBS
4 Steadham was chief meteorologist at a CBS affiliate in Boise, Idaho.CBS2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cHe was a friend that my wife and I would see often at the McDonald\u2019s here in Star. He always had time to talk about the weather and his love of flying his plane,\u201d one wrote on Facebook.<\/p>\n

\u201cGod bless Roland\u2019s family! We lost a beautiful person today doing what he loved to do,\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n

Steadham leaves behind a wife, six children, and several grandchildren.<\/p>\n

The cause of Tuesday\u2019s crash is still under investigation, the Gem County Sheriff\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A beloved veteran CBS meteorologist and father was killed in a plane crash after his aircraft clipped a power line and plummeted into an icy river in… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7517,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7516","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7516"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7516\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7518,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7516\/revisions\/7518"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grow48.us\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}