2 seriously injured in plane crash near the Ocean Shores airport
Jun 8, 2024, 11:03 PM
The sign entering Ocean Shores can be seen. (Image courtesy of KIRO 7)
(Image courtesy of KIRO 7)
Two people were seriously injured after a plane crash near Ocean Shores Municipal Airport Saturday afternoon.
The Ocean Shores Fire Department (OSFD) was dispatched to the crash in the area near the airport at 4:15 p.m. Saturday, according to a press statement published on the department’s Facebook page.
The department reported the crews who arrived on the scene discovered a single-engine, fixed-wing plan in what was described as “a marshy area” between the airport and North Bay, about 100 yards from the pavement.
Responding crews reached the site by foot because emergency vehicles could not access it because of the terrain.
The plane didn’t catch fire, but “the situation was dynamic due to running fuel,” according to the OSFD statement.
2 people were seriously injured in the crash
It was determined that two people were trapped inside the aircraft. The patient the department pulled from the aircraft first had to be extricated and then was “transferred to a Lifeflight helicopter for transport to the hospital.”
The second occupant of the aircraft was trapped by the wing and that person’s removal required crews “to perform a complicated rescue, including cutting the wing strut in several places.” That person was removed from the aircraft about an hour after crews first arrived, the department said in its statement.
The patient was transferred to a local hospital, but did not require a helicopter.
Auburn accident: 1 killed after a plane crashed into a building
OSFD Assistant Chief Mike Mandella was in charge of the scene and praised the crews, the Ocean Shores Police Department (OSPD) and all of those who responded to the crowd.
“In 47 years, both as a first responder and a chief, this was one of the most impressive calls I’ve ever been on,” Mandella said in the statement. “The smooth teamwork of our crews, including Mayor Frank Elduen and City Administrator Scott Anderson, was integral to the success of the mission. And that also extends to the police department and other agencies who responded. They gave all they had to make the rescue successful and give the best possible care to the patients.”
Mandella added that he was impressed by the work his crews completed Saturday.
“For me as a chief officer, the total job satisfaction that I got was watching my crews at work. They were flawless.”
This incident will be under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), OSFD’s statement added.
MyNorthwest News: The latest stories in and around the PNW
The department’s statement concluded by thanking OSPD, Grays Harbor Communications, Grays Harbor County Emergency Management, Grays Harbor Fire District 7, and the Hoquiam Fire Department for their assistance.
Steve Coogan is the lead editor of MyNorthwest. You can read more of his stories here. Follow Steve on X, or email him here.
