Plane crashes after hard landing at Pullman-Moscow airport

A small single-engine plane flown solo by a student pilot crashed after a hard landing at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

Airport Manager Tony Bean said the airplane touched down hard enough it broke the nose gear on the plane, and the pilot lost control, flipping the aircraft over in green space next to the runway.

Bean said he and the entire airport fire operations team were at the aircraft in about three minutes.

He said Interstate Aviation was on the scene about one minute later.

The pilot refused any medical assistance, was not injured and walked away from the crash, Bean said.

Before the runway could reopen, Bean said it is policy for an inspector from the Flight Standards District Office in Spokane to inspect the aircraft to ensure it is safe to be moved and document the crash.

“Broken planes are one thing, broken people are another,” Bean said. “You can fix broken planes.”

Bean said an inspector for the office was in Moscow and the runway was closed for about two hours to remove the plane, which resulted in one 30 minute delay for the 3 p.m. incoming Alaska Airlines flight.

The crash is the first for Bean since he came to the airport in June 2011 from the Yellowstone Airport in Montana, he said.