EDMONTON – Spokane news agencies are reporting a Canadian pilot involved in a plane crash in Washington State Sunday has died.
Kiro TV reported the pilot died Tuesday afternoon, according to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and Children’s Hospital.
Michael Clements, 61, of Stony Plain, Alta. took off from Felts Field Sunday afternoon and a short time later crashed his plane in east Spokane.
He was in critical condition after the plane crashed. Witnesses say they saw the small plane in obvious trouble as it was flying over Spokane and that its engine was sputtering.
Authorities say the aircraft had just taken off from a nearby airfield and was on its way to Stockton, California when it began experiencing engine trouble.
First responders found the twisted wreckage between two busy thoroughfares.
“It’s extremely fortunate that the incident occurred in an unpopulated area,” said Steve Sabo, chief of the Spokane Fire Department. “The fact that it came down on a street and it’s one of the least busy streets that we have in the city.”
“Extremely fortunate that there were no people on the ground injured.”
It’s believed the aircraft can hold nearly 500 litres of fuel. Much of it spilled in the crash.
The department of ecology says it’s not a significant spill, but the soil will need to be dug up and reclaimed.
Comments