LAKE CAVANAUGH — A Snohomish County search team rescued two men early Monday after their small plane crashed en route to the Snohomish area.
Around 9 p.m., the Snohomish County sheriff’s search and rescue unit was notified of a missing single-engine plane with one pilot and one passenger on board, according to the sheriff’s office. The Cessna was en route from Concrete in Skagit County to an airstrip south of Snohomish, per FlightAware tracking data.
The plane left Concrete around 2 p.m. and was expected to arrive later in the afternoon. Another pilot last saw it near Sedro-Woolley. The state Department of Transportation flew over the area looking for a signal from the missing plane. Around midnight, a beacon signal was picked up near Lake Cavanaugh, north of Oso, the sheriff’s office reported in a press release.
The sheriff’s search and rescue team was brought in for a more thorough search in the light of day. Wildfire smoke prevented a night search, according to the press release.
At 7:30 a.m. Monday, the sheriff’s rescue helicopter, SnoHawk 10, departed Taylor’s Landing near Snohomish, according to the sheriff’s office. Shortly after, a state DOT aviation crew found the crash site in a heavily wooded area. Around 8 a.m., the two occupants of the plane heard the rescue helicopter. They called “mayday” on their handheld radio. SnoHawk 10 found them and hoisted them into the helicopter.
The two men, brothers aged 78 and 79, had reportedly walked almost a mile after the crash along a creek to a clearing in the woods. Both men were exhausted, but otherwise avoided serious injuries.
SnoHawk 10 took the brothers to Taylor’s Landing, where paramedics evaluated them. Family members greeted them there.
The National Transportation Safety Board was investigating the crash Monday, according to the sheriff’s office.
Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
