EVERETT, Wash. — A man is dead after a small plane crashed at Paine Field yesterday afternoon.
Officials said the pilot took off from the main runway, then crashed into a wooded area on the airport property. At this point, it is not clear what caused the plane to go down.
“We are sad to report that we have one occupant on board who is deceased,” confirmed Kristin Banfield, public information officer for Paine Field.
The crash happened just before 3 p.m. Thursday. Images from the scene show smoke pouring out of the trees.
“There was a small fire that had engulfed the aircraft,” Banfield said.
Crews rushed to put the fire out, then spent hours trying to account for all the airport employees and searching the woods for any other potential passengers.
Banfield said the pilot was the only occupant.
“We have probably 20 to 30 employees and assistance from other fire departments that are still on scene,” she said. “The aircraft, we were able to confirm, did crash upon takeoff.”
Banfield said the pilot called the tower and was cleared for takeoff. Beyond that, she is not aware of any other distress calls. The plane reportedly went down around 1,000 feet west of the runway.
Banfield said minor crashes involving small planes are relatively common at the airport, but ones like this are not.
“As far as significant injury or fatality crashes, it has been probably six to eight years since we have had an incident like that here at Paine Field,” she said.
The plane was manufactured by Glasair, a Washington-based plane manufacturer known for selling kits that pilots build themselves, according to Banfield.
Banfield said she did not yet know the tail number of the plane and deferred to the medical examiner’s office to identify the pilot.
The NTSB has been notified and will launch a full investigation.
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