Two people survived a plane crash in a heavily wooded area near Yacolt.
Around 4 p.m. Monday, PDX Air Traffic Control contacted Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) and alerted them to a possible downed aircraft in the area of Gumboot Mountain, which is on the Clark/Skamania County border, near Sunset Falls Campground.
The plane was described as a Piper PA-32 Saratoga with two people on board.
Deputies from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the area and set up a command post at the Sunset Falls Campground. Search and Rescue coordinators from CCSO requested assistance from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office Civilian Search and Rescue Team (CCSO SAR), the Volcano Rescue Team (VRT), and a SAR helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.
Deputies from CCSO and CCSO SAR members used unmanned aircraft systems to search the area, while waiting for the SAR helicopter to arrive. Additionally, members of CCSO SAR and VRT conducted ground searches of the area.
The SAR helicopter arrived in the area at approximately 8:30 p.m. and at about 9:10 p.m. they located the downed aircraft. A crew member from the SAR helicopter was lowered to the crash site and confirmed both the pilot and passenger were alive and had only minor injuries. Both were hoisted to the SAR helicopter and flown to a landing zone on the north side of the Yacolt Primary School.
The pilot and passenger were both taken to the North Country EMS station in Yacolt where they were treated for their minor injuries and given food and water. The two were then transported by CCSO to the West Precinct Office where they were picked up by a family member.
The location of the crash site was in Skamania County.
The National Transportation Safety Board will be the investigating agency.