The pilot of a plane that crash-landed Nov. 18 at the Jefferson County International Airport walked away uninjured from the incident.

At about 11:23 a.m., a white 1980 Beech fixed-wing single-engine aircraft made a belly landing on the runway because the landing gear either failed to deploy or were not fully locked into place, said Bill Beezley, East Jefferson Fire Rescue public information officer.

The pilot was the sole occupant of the four-seat plane, Beezley said. The plane is registered through the Federal Aviation Administration to James Patrick, of Woodenville, but it could not be confirmed before press time if Patrick was the person piloting the plane when it crashed.

“The plane came in for a landing and East Jefferson Fire Chief Jim Walkowski and a medic unit were already at the airport transporting a medical patient to an Airlift Northwest medical helicopter that lands there,” Beezley said. “The chief said he heard a screeching noise from the runway and ran around the building that was blocking his view and saw the plane on its belly sliding down the runway.”

The pilot was able to exit the plane safely, Beezley said.

Walkowski immediately called in the incident to emergency dispatch. Engine 91, from Naval Magazine Indian Island, was nearby and responded to provide mutual aid, Beezley said.

“They were there in about one minute,” he said. “They took a defensive position. They had a charged hose line, just in case, but there was no leakage of fuel, or smoke or flames.”

Walkowski also phoned the Seattle FAA to report the incident, and the airport was closed to incoming flights from about 11:24 a.m. to 12:58 p.m. There was no noticeable damage to the runway as the plane and debris from the crash were removed, Beezley said.

It was unknown if any flights were diverted during this time, Beezley said.

“There is not an aircraft coordinator at that airport, so pilots talk to each other and they just line up in order based on their radio communications, so I don’t know how many flights were diverted.”

Plane removed

“Some people from the airport came with a forklift and a kind of dolly for the rear of the plane,” Beezley said. “They were able to raise the plane up with a forklift and then lock the landing gear into place so that they could tow it off the runway.”

For being involved in a crash landing, the damage to the plane was limited, Beezley said.

“The plane actually looks in remarkably good condition. Obviously, the prop was bent up and will have to be replaced and the engine rebuilt. But, the mere fact that they could actually extend the landing gear, lock in place, and then tow it away tells you it was in pretty good shape.”

Before the runway was reopened, a crew walked it to remove any debris, Beezley said.

“I know it was walked a couple of times to clear, but it was just a couple of handfuls of debris.”

Potential cause

The cause of the incident appears to have been a failure to deploy the landing gear fully or at all, Beezley said.

“When Walkowski interviewed the pilot, the pilot said he wasn’t sure if he dropped the landing gear down,” Beezley said. “However, all the photos of the plane showed the landing gear partially down, so it either didn’t go all the way down, and then lock and caved when he hit, or somehow they got jarred loose when the plane bellied down.”