All 5 Aboard Die As Plane Crashes In Washington Skydiving Craft Plunges After Takeoff In Bremerton

A small skydiving plane crashed into a ravine and burst into flames shortly after takeoff from the Bremerton National Airport on Monday, killing all five people aboard.

The single-engine Cessna 182, owned by Blue Skies Skydiving Adventures of Shelton, had a male pilot and four skydivers aboard - a woman and three men, said Blue Skies spokesman Robert Turso.

Jane Jermy, chief investigator for the Kitsap County coroner’s office, said the dead will be identified with dental records, which could take a few days.

The woman was 22 years old and the men ranged in age from 19 to 57. One person was from Oregon, the rest were from Western Washington, said Lt. Gary Leach of the Washington State Patrol.

Witness accounts indicated the plane took off just before 4:30 p.m., heading south, and then seemed to experience some engine trouble before banking to the east and then banking north in an apparent attempt to return to the airport, Leach said.

The plane crashed into a ravine 30-40 feet deep on the airport grounds and burst into flames, he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration was at the scene, but a cause of the accident had not been determined.

The weather was a little windy and cloudy at the time of the accident, which Turso said was just right for skydiving.

He said the group had at least 30 years of skydiving among them.

“They were all experienced divers out to have fun,” Turso said.

Another skydiver, Elaine Carroll, said about 30 people were participating in a series of jumps Monday, part of a Blue Skies’ end-of-summer party.

The people who died had been up and jumped several times Monday, she said.

The planes typically went up 9,500 to 10,000 feet before the skydivers parachuted out, she said.

“I could have been on that plane,” she said.

The airport was closed after the accident, said Lynn Hills, the airport’s director of finance and administration.

“It’s closed indefinitely until the investigation is complete or until the FAA indicates the airport can be opened,” Hills said.

The airport is considered a general aviation airport, so there are no scheduled flights, Hill said.

The Tacoma Narrows Airport in Gig Harbor was open to receive aircraft, she said.

Bremerton is 15 miles west of Seattle, across Puget Sound.

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