A small aircraft crash claimed the life of the pilot west of Discovery Bay Wednesday.
The name of the pilot has not been released.
Authorities said a witness near the suspected crash site gave …
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A small aircraft crash claimed the life of the pilot west of Discovery Bay Wednesday.
The name of the pilot has not been released.
Authorities said a witness near the suspected crash site gave an excellent description of where they thought the plane had gone down, with the presumed crash location about a mile away in thick-forested land.
Clallam County Fire District No. 3 and Clallam County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to the report in the Blyn/Gardiner area.
Their response included a fire engine and aid car from the Diamond Point station, an engine with medic from the Blyn station, and a rescue truck and medic unit from the Sequim station.
Clallam County Fire Chief Ben Andrews was called in to act as duty chief.
The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office search-and-rescue team, as well as a search-and-rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, were also requested.
Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office arrived on scene quickly and added two unmanned aerial vehicles, better known as drones, to the search. Meanwhile, both the Clallam and Jefferson County search-and-rescue teams staged and prepared to look for the downed aircraft.
It was determined the crash site was likely in Jefferson County, so a unified command was established with Jefferson County Sheriff's Office and the fire district.
Shortly thereafter the search-and-rescue helicopter arrived and took over the aerial search.
Fog in the area hampered the view, but when a break in weather occurred, the helicopter was able to locate the crash site and lower crews down.
A single victim was found, and the body was recovered and flown from the site.
Crews then entered the crash site on foot to conduct a search to confirm that there were no additional victims.
"As the responding duty chief, I was very impressed with the level of assistance, co-operation, coordination and expertise shown by all of the responders,” Andrews said.
”Several community members with local knowledge were also a great help in locating and accessing the crash site as quickly as we did. The effectiveness of this operation was due to everyone truly working together towards a common objective,” he added.
