LAKE GOODWIN — A 6-year-old boy died Saturday after a float plane carrying him and his father crashed while trying to land on the lake.
The father, 55, who was piloting the plane, was able to escape but the boy was trapped underwater for about 40 minutes until a diver from the Snohomish
County Technical Water Rescue Team rescued him.
The boy was taken to the Colby Campus of Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, where he passed away around 7:15 p.m. The father did not require medical transport, said Kristen Thorstenson, public information officer for the Marysville Fire Department.
The plane was one of three float planes flying together and attempting to land on the lake, said Lt. Rodney Rochon, spokesman for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
“Two planes succeeded and the third one flipped over for unknown reasons,” he said.
The man and boy are not from Snohomish County but live in the state, Rochon said.
The dive team and the Marysville Fire Department were dispatched around 2 p.m.
The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
There is no time set to remove the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board is formulating a plan with the FAA and the Sheriff’s Office to remove it safely. The removal could happen as early as Monday morning.
Float planes are seaplanes that have landing gear with one or more floats. They are common at the lake, Rochon said.
“Nothing like this has happened in recent years,” he said.
People who live around the area helped move the plane to more shallow waters.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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