Small plane crashes in Fall City; pilot injured

A small plane crashed Friday evening in Fall City, sending the only person aboard, the pilot, to a hospital with injuries.

The single-engine Cessna 206 crash-landed in a field near commercial property and a busy traffic roundabout in the 4000 block of Fall City-Carnation Road Southeast around 6:30 p.m., according to fire and aircraft officials.

Medics took the man, who appeared to be in his 40s, to Overlake Medical Center, said Jake Koehnen, a spokesman for King County Fire District 27. The pilot appeared to be conscious and alert, he said.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said it’s unclear why the crash occurred but the agency will investigate. The pilot suffered non-life-threatening injuries, the spokesman said.

Witness Darcy Burner, a past Democratic candidate for Congress, was on her way to dinner at the Fall City Bistro, near the field, when she saw the aircraft having trouble in the sky.

“We heard a big boom, and it crashed on the other side of the parking lot,” she said. “My husband and I both ran down to see if we could help.”

She said three other witnesses, one of them a server at the bistro, helped the pilot from the wreckage before emergency responders arrived. Witnesses were careful to avoid any moves that might start a fire or further injure the man, Burner said.

The server had to go home to change his clothes, which got dirty from the debris, before returning to work, she said.

Steve Bandy, a firefighter with the district, said it was unknown where the pilot was headed or why he was flying.

“(The plane) was pretty messed up,” he said.

A King County sheriff’s spokesman said the pilot appeared to have suffered a compound fracture.

Though the crash was an unexpected interruption to her night out, Burner said she was happy to help make sure the pilot was safe and getting medical attention.

“The adrenaline rush has made the appetite around the table less than what it would have been,” she added.