Man Survives Biplane Crash Near Freeway Hits Tree In Lookout Pass, Gets Motorist To Take Him For Help

A Nine Mile Falls, Wash., man crashed his biplane Wednesday into a tree near the top of Lookout Pass but walked away with minor cuts and bruises, authorities said.

Jim Coombes, 36, was flying in from Helena in his 1985 Staudacher stunt plane when he ran into trouble over Interstate 90 east of the Montana-Idaho border about 3:30 p.m.

“He was trying to make a turn or something and just fell,” said Wallace Police Sgt. Art Harris. “We’re not sure what happened yet.”

Authorities believe he hit heavy weather and crashed into the south side of the pass. Witnesses said the plane careened over an embankment and landed upside-down in a tree.

All four wings were broken off.

But Coombes walked to the highway where a passing motorist picked him up. The driver called ahead on a cellular telephone and an ambulance met them in Wallace.

Coombes was taken to Silver Valley Medical Center at 6 p.m. and released a couple of hours later.

“He was just talking away,” Harris said. “He looked pretty bloody, but he just had a cut on his head and maybe some cracked or broken ribs.”

Federal Aviation Administration officials are en route to the crash site to investigate.

The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately known, an FAA official said.

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