Sunday, February 10, 2013

Federal Aviation Administration investigates plane crash in Sunnyside, Washington

Two men suffered minor injuries Saturday afternoon when their small plane crash-landed in the parking lot of a Sunnyside city park and flipped over into a cluster of nearby trees.

Witnesses said they saw a small, single-engine plane strike power lines that cross Interstate 82 about 12:40 p.m., according to a news release from the Sunnyside Police Department.

The plane then made an attempt to land in the parking lot of South Hill Park, which is less than a half-mile north of the interstate. Police said the plane landed, then crashed through a cyclone fence before coming to rest in a field on private property.

No one on the ground was injured, but damage to the 1963 Piper Cherokee was extensive, according to police.

One wing was torn off and the other was badly damaged, said Trish Combs, who was inside the community center when the plane came down. “It hardly looked like a plane.”

Combs, who spoke with the pilot, said the plane might have suffered control problems.

Authorities did not release the names of the men on board the plane when it crashed, or details regarding where the flight had begun or was headed.

The National Transportation Safety Board is the lead agency on a joint investigation with the Federal Aviation Administration into the crash.

Police directed further inquiries to the FAA, which did not return calls.

The community center is located in the city’s South Hill Park, a 17-acre park west of South First Street.

No comments:

Post a Comment