BOTHELL, Washington — Their love story took flight years ago, but it was cemented on a Bothell street.
The small plane Allen Kang and his fiancée Rosseana Morales were traveling in crash-landed after losing its engine on July 20 in Bothell.
"The engine was gone," said Kang, who was piloting the experimental aircraft.
"The prop was at a dead stop," added Morales, who was in the cockpit with him.
It all started as the couple flew their plane home from Tacoma to Everett after visiting friends.
When the engine died, the plane started plummeting.
"At first I did get a (gasp), like this is scary," said Morales, who has a background in aviation. "I just remember telling Allen that this is what you've trained for. 'I love you, just glide. Let's find the best place to land.'"
Paine Field was still about 10 miles away and Interstate 5 was packed with cars.
It was dark.
The next best option was 228th Street Southeast - a busy Bothell arterial road in the daytime but not so much at night.
So, surrounded by streets and subdivisions filled with hundreds of houses, Kang made the decision to put the plane down.
"What's running through my head is the interstate is busy and I'm not taking anyone with me. It's us and no one else," said Kang, who has been flying for six years.
They clipped some powerlines but ended up with just minor injuries.
"I see him as my hero, to be honest," said Morales. "He is a hero that saved so many lives that night. I think it made our relationship a lot stronger."
So strong, just 5 days later the couple got married on the beach in Steilacoom.
They were already engaged and planned to tie the knot about a year from now, but after walking away from a plane crash together...why wait another minute?
"At the end of it, we were just like, we just survived the worst thing possible that anyone could experience. Let's do this," the couple quipped.
Now, pilot and co-pilot begin life as husband and wife; the ultimate wedding crashers.
"It's a very scary moment but one that helped me cherish my life more and cherish our relationship together," said the newly named Rosseana Kang.
"I can't imagine if I was alone what I would do," added her husband. "I was lucky to have her there."
The NTSB and FAA are still investigating the cause of the engine failure.
There is a
GoFundMe to help with the couple's medical bills.
Two people were injured when an aircraft crashed on 228th Street Southeast in Bothell late Tuesday, according to Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue.
Fire & Rescue said both occupants of the plane were taken to the hospital. Both occupants had minor injuries, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said on Twitter late Tuesday. A dog was also on board, and was transported with the two people to a hospital, according to Fire & Rescue.
The 4200 block of 228th Street Southeast was closed after the crash, which happened around 10:20 p.m. The road will remain closed into Wednesday morning for the investigation, the Fire Department said. The Federal Aviation Administration has been contacted, the Fire Department said.
Fire & Rescue said the aircraft was on its way to Paine Field when it had complete engine failure. On its way to the ground, the plane struck high tension power lines then crashed on 228th, just south of 45th Avenue near Canyon Park.
No one on the ground was injured, the Fire Department said.
