EVERETT — A small plane belonging to local flight club Puget Sound Flyers crashed in the woods north of Paine Field on Friday evening.
The pilot survived “without a scratch,” club president Richard Newman said Saturday. The cause of the crash appeared to be a mechanical issue that caused the plane to lose power, Newman said.
Around 5:30 p.m., multiple fire departments responded to a report that the plane, a Cessna 150, crashed about a half-mile north of the airport in the wooded Japanese Gulch area, near Mukilteo, said Paine Field spokesperson Kristin Banfield.
The pilot reportedly called 911, still stuck in a tree, according to emergency radio traffic.
A Cessna 150 crashed north of Paine Field on Friday evening, Feb. 16, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. The pilot survived without serious injury. (Courtesy of Richard Newman.)
It took nearly an hour for first-responders from Mukilteo, Everett and the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office to locate the crashed Cessna.
Sunset in Everett was around 5:30 p.m.
First responders used drones with infrared cameras to locate the plane in a ravine in the woods, Mukilteo Fire Chief Gene Albright said. Firefighters worked to bring the pilot out of the dark woods to a makeshift command post at one of the gulch’s trailheads.
The pilot, who was the only person on board, declined medical aid and was able to “walk away” from the crash, according to a post from Paine Field Airport on Facebook.
Emergency responders stage outside the Japanese Gulch 19th Street Trailhead while searching for an airplane that crashed in the area on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
The airport’s post confirmed the crash was “an uncontrolled impact with terrain in a wooded area” north of the airport. Photos showed the plane tangled in thick brush and brambles.
According to FlightAware data, the plane left Paine Field at 3:57 p.m. on Friday. Before the crash, the plane made a 135-mile trip, making a rapid descent around 4:40 p.m. at William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles, then looping back across Puget Sound. The plane began another descent above Whidbey Island, but did not make it very far past downtown Mukilteo, en route to Paine Field.
FAA data shows the fixed-wing single-engine plane was based in Everett, with its first airworthiness certificate issued in 1975. The certificate was renewed in 2021, with an expiration date in 2028. The plane used a Continental 0-200 Series engine.
The aircraft was caught “deep in the thickets,” so recovery will be challenging, Newman said.
A Cessna 150 crashed north of Paine Field on Friday evening, Feb. 16, 2024, in Mukilteo, Washington. The pilot survived without serious injury. (Courtesy of Richard Newman.)
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were advised about the crash, according to Paine Field. Once the NTSB completes its investigation, authorities will work with the plane’s owner to recover the Cessna, the fire department reported.
Puget Sound Flyers launched in 2013 as a nonprofit “offering recreational flyers the chance to have fun, keep flying and get the best value in flying in the Northwest,” according to the club’s website. The group has “helped many people earn their wings to fly and has grown to a fleet of 4 aircraft for flight club members to enjoy the Pacific Northwest from above.”
Newman said the NTSB was on site Friday night and Saturday morning and was “already wrapping up their investigation.”
“It was really no more than a fender bender,” he said.
Caleb Hutton contributed to this report.
Jenelle Baumbach: 360-352-8623; jenelle.baumbach@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @jenelleclar.
Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.
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