Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spokane plane crash pilot in critical condition

The pilot of the single-engine plane that crashed in downtown Spokane was rescued from the cockpit within minutes of officers arriving on scene.

But to the Spokane police officers who were there Sunday, it felt much longer.

“You’re watching every breath and thinking, we’ve got to get this guy out of here. It’s so frustrating not being able to do it,” said Sgt. Chris Crane, who was one of the first officers on scene.

The pilot, whose identity is being withheld by Spokane police, remains in critical condition at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center.

He was flying a single-engine Piper Malibu that had just taken off from Felts Field when it crashed north of East Sprague Avenue at Erie Street, near the Hamilton Street bridge over the Spokane River.

Canadian aircraft records show the plane is registered to Michael Clements, of Stony Plain, Alberta.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board.

Though the plane was removed Monday morning, spilled fuel from the crash was still visible on the ground.

Sgt. Kurt Vigesaa said he was working a traffic stop about 10 blocks east of the crash site when he saw a dangerously low-flying plane pass overhead. He was the first officer to arrive on scene when the crash was reported about 1:30 p.m.

“The whole area was covered in gas, inside, outside,” he said. Two passersby and three BNSF employees were already there when he arrived.

The plane was upside down with the pilot trapped in his seat, head pinned against the ceiling.

“We couldn’t get to him at all,” Crane said.

Vigesaa went inside the cockpit and was eventually able to remove the seat’s headrest, freeing up enough space for officers to cut the pilot’s seatbelt and move him to nearby grass, out of the area covered in fuel.

Though police try to train for a variety of possible scenarios, Crane said the rescue was “almost 100 percent improvisation” once officers arrived on scene.

“I’ve been doing this for 24 years, and I’ve never had a rescue like this,” he said. “Everyone that was involved in this really came together.”

Crane said he spoke to the pilot’s son, who works as a paramedic in Alberta.

“He was wondering if his dad put the airplane down in a good spot…I told him that he should be proud of his dad. He did as good as he could do in a situation like that.”