2 plane crashes at Paine Field within an hour

There were two plane crashes within an hour of each other Friday at Everett’s Paine Field. The incidents are unrelated, and are the second and third crashes at the airport within a week.

The first crash occurred around 3 p.m.

“On take off, this Cessna which had two males — a passenger and pilot — was unable to gain altitude, so they attempted to land in a field, which they did successfully,” KIRO 7’s Joanna Small said.

Two males who appeared in their 20s were aboard the airplane, according to the Everett Herald. Minor injuries were reported.

The fixed-wing Cessna 172 airplane didn’t gain altitude during takeoff while the men were practicing touch-and-go landings around 3 p.m. On one practice landing, the plane kept going south on the runway, eventually smashing through a fence. The plane came to rest on a road outside the airport with damaged wings and a bent propeller.

About an hour later, a second small airplane crashed on the same runway. A pilot failed to extend the plane’s landing gear, and skidded as it landed. No injuries were reported. The airplane was quickly removed from the runway.

There was another plane crash at Paine Field nearly one week ago. A man and a woman were on that airplane at the time, but were uninjured. An investigation into that crash is underway.

Follow @http://twitter.com/Mynorthwest