[1]Cessna 170B rests in large field off Southwest 216th Lane.
Updated at 5:16 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
GRAND MOUND – Responders were called to the scene of a small plane crash south of Grand Mound late this morning.
The call came from the pilot himself about 11:48 a.m., according to Thurston County emergency dispatchers
The Cessna 170B came to rest in a field near the 6200 block of Southwest 216th Lane.
Bill Fortman said he was sitting down at his dining room table having a cup of coffee when he looked out his window and saw an airplane sitting in the neighbor’s field.
“I thought well, I’d better go out and see if there’s anyone in that thing,” Fortman said. “I did. There was.”
The pilot was alone, leaning against the side, and asked him to open the door, Fortman said. He couldn’t hardly talk, he said.
“He was bleeding a little bit on one hand, he was talking to 911 and didn’t know where he was,” he said.
West Thurston Regional Fire Authority Lt. Lanette Dyer said arriving firefighters extricated the pilot and he described generalized back, neck and body pain.
AirLift Northwest picked him up at Rochester High School to fly him to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in case of internal injuries, according to Dyer.
“We sent him to Harborview where they could take a closer look at him and make sure everything was good,” Dyer said.
The 73-year-old man was enroute from Spanaway to the Chehalis-Centralia Airport, according to Dyer.
She said she was told he was traveling at about 2,500 feet when he lost power to his engine, attempted various emergency procedures and then looked for an area to put the plane down safely.
The light green Cessna was in one piece and sitting upright, but tilted with the tip of one wing down.
The tail number is registered to a James W. Johnson, of Spanaway, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. The fixed wing single engine aircraft was manufactured in 1958.
A hospital spokesperson said late this afternoon Johnson is listed in serious condition.
Fortman said he didn’t hear anything and wasn’t sure how long the aircraft was sitting outside the back of his home. He said he understood it flew over an adjacent stand of trees next to the open field and, thankfully, managed to clear them.
“Fortunately the grass was tall, so I think that cushioned it a little,” Fortman said.
[2]Deputies and firefighters arrive to scene. / Courtesy photo by Thurston County Sheriff’s Office