The fiery crash of the single-engine plane was captured on a dashcam video. The pilot, 30, and a passenger did not report injuries, but two people on the ground had minor injuries, police say
An Oregon pilot reported he lost power just before his single-engine plane crashed on a Mukilteo street, striking several cars, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.
The pilot and his passenger walked away from the Tuesday crash while two people on the ground reported minor injuries, Mukilteo police said.
The crash was captured on a driver’s dashcam video, which showed the plane clipping a power line and sending sparks into the air before hitting the ground in a fireball.
The single-engine plane had just taken off from nearby Paine Field airport when it crashed at about 3:30 p.m. at Harbour Pointe Boulevard Southwest and Mukilteo Speedway, according to Mukilteo police.
Police say several cars were damaged in the crash and the subsequent fire.
After striking the power line, the plane hit a traffic signal, rupturing a fuel cell and sparking a car fire, police said. After hitting the street the plane skidded to a stop east of Cyrus Way.
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Khal Nouri told KING-5 he was stopped at a red light with his wife and son in the car when the plane flew right over them.
“I thought it was the end of our lives,” he said.
Nouri said it appeared the pilot deliberately tried to land the plane in the street.
“He didn’t want to hit a building, obviously. He didn’t want to hit an area where people are, and he saw this street was empty. He did a fantastic job,” he said.
The Snohomish County Public Utilities District said the crash also caused a widespread but brief power outage in the area.
The 30-year-old pilot did not report injuries, police said.
The Piper PA-32-260 is registered to Klamath Aviation LLC, in Klamath Falls, Oregon, which appears to be owned by Justin Dunaway, who holds a student pilot certification, according to FAA airmen records.
“We don’t want to talk about it right now,” Dunaway said on Wednesday morning. Dunaway said he was not piloting the plane.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the crash.
“We recovered the airplane last night,” Eliott Simpson, an aviation accident investigator with the NTSB, said Wednesday. “We’re going to spend the next couple days gathering evidence.”
Simpson said a preliminary report should be out next week.
He said investigators spoke to the pilot and a friend who was with him when the plane crashed.
“They both reported they lost engine power on takeoff,” Simpson said.