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Last updated May 9, 2008 10:02 p.m. PT
Small plane crashes after takeoff in Covington, pilot dead
COVINGTON, Wash. -- A single-engine plane crashed into the garage of a house southeast of Seattle shortly after takeoff. The pilot died at the scene and a woman at the house escaped injury, authorities said.
The pilot, the only person on board was trying to turn back to Crest Airpark after experiencing engine problems, said Adam Tomlinson, a clerk at the private airstrip.
"I saw him taking off, and then I saw his engine quit. I saw him start to bank, and then I lost sight of him," Tomlinson said. "I went outside and we saw a pillar of smoke coming up through the trees."
Another witness, Keith Crane, told KING Television he heard a pop before the engine stopped.
The pilot owned a house at the airfield and was flying a Thorp T-18, a kit plane, Tomlinson said. He estimated the plane crashed from about 100 feet, while another pilot and neighbor, Keith Crane, told KING-TV it was 300 to 400 feet in the air.
"The airplane turned upside down as it was trying to make a return trip to the runway, which is somewhat of a bad maneuver to do. He went upside down and straight down," Crane said.
The plane destroyed a wall of the garage part of the house and burst into flames, which were contained before they could spread to the residence, Kent fire Capt. Kyle Ohashi said.
The woman at the house, though uninjured, was "in a little bit of shock, as you can imagine, from something like this happening," Ohashi added.
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