by Marta Murvosh
A single-engine airplane lies in a ditch Monday morning on the north side of Samish Island Road about two miles west of Edison. The pilot appears to have been flying southeast Sunday evening and attempted to land in a field, missing power lines but ending up in a drainage ditch.
A small plane crashed Sunday night on the Samish flats, missing power lines, leaving skid marks across a field and stopping in a drainage ditch.
The pilot was taken to a hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and sent home, said Dennis Hogenson, air safety investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board in Seattle. Hogenson and Federal Aviation Administration inspectors are investigating the crash, which occurred just before 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
Hogenson said that the pilot, whose name hasn’t been released, told him he was having a problem with the airplane not producing power and he decided to land in a field northwest the intersection of Samish Island and Bay View-Edison roads. The first call to 911 came in at 6:30 p.m.
The pilot was flying a Cessna 172, a single-engine plane, from Bellingham to Bay View, Hogenson said. Once the two FAA inspectors arrive, the plane will be taken to a secure hanger, probably at the Skagit Regional Airport, where Hogenson will conduct his investigation.
• Marta Murvosh can be reached at 360-416-2149 or .
