LANDER, Wyo. — A Port Angeles pilot was involved in a single-engine plane crash in a Wyoming lake that killed a passenger.
Campers helped the pilot, Scott Fitzgerald of Port Angeles, get to the shore of Frye Lake southwest of Lander in Shoshone National Forest after the crash Sunday morning, Fremont County sheriff’s officials said Monday.
The crash killed a 33-year-old Lander man whose name hasn’t been released. Search and rescue workers got the victim out of the plane and removed the plane from the lake.
Fitzgerald was taken to a local hospital, then to one out of state. His condition wasn’t known Monday.
Port of Port Angeles Airport Manager Dan Gase said Fitzgerald owns a Kitfox based at William R. Fairchild International Airport.
“That is really sad to hear,” Gase said of the reported crash.
“I hope he’s OK.”
Fitzgerald works as a nurse at Olympic Medical Center, Gase said.
“I don’t know him really personally, but I see him at the airport,” Gase said in a telephone interview Monday.
“He’s just a great guy and really an aviation enthusiast.”
Witnesses said the Kitfox plane flew low and wobbled before it plunged into the lake and caught fire.
National forest, sheriff’s and National Transportation Safety Board officials were investigating.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen contributed to this report. He can be reached by email at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
