FEBRUARY 23, 2015
SPOKANE, WASHINGTON
The pilot of a small airplane was critically injured Sunday
when the single-engine Piper Malibu crashed east of downtown Spokane.
The private plane, registered with an owner in Alberta, had taken
off from Felts Field bound for Stockton, California. It went down about 1:30
p.m. just north of East Sprague Avenue at North Erie Street, near the Hamilton
Street bridge over the Spokane River.
The plane lost power a short time after takeoff, hit the top
of a BNSF railroad viaduct over Erie and crumpled to the ground there, said
Steve Sabo, Spokane Fire Department battalion chief.
Curtis Neal, who witnessed the crash, said the plane banked
left, appeared headed toward a building, banked right, and then crashed. Neal
was first on the scene and rushed to the pilot’s aid.
“I ran over there and tapped on the window,” he said. “He
didn’t respond.”
Neal used a piece of landing gear to break out a window to
try to free the pilot, who was suspended upside down. “It looked bad,”
he said.
Two Spokane police officers then arrived, and one of the
officers cut the seat belt holding the pilot. They pulled the pilot out through
a narrow opening.
“They were concerned about a fire hazard,” Sabo said.
Although some fuel spilled from the plane, there was no
fire, he said.
The pilot – the only person on board – was taken to
Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in critical condition.
Representatives of the Federal Aviation Administration and
the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.