PORT TOWNSEND — A 78-year-old Sequim man was listed in serious condition after his small, single-engine airplane crash-landed at Jefferson County International Airport early Thursday afternoon.
John M. Cook reportedly received facial injuries and a broken leg and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center hospital in Seattle.
Keppie Keplinger, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue spokeswoman, said a gust of wind caught the Remos G3-600 light sport aircraft and flipped it into grass next to the runway.
The pilot sustained what appeared to be injuries that were not life-threatening, Keplinger said.
Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg-Hanson said Cook was listed in serious condition Thursday afternoon.
The plane was a two-passenger aircraft made in 2007. Cook was the sole passenger on the plane.
“I’m pretty sure it’s totaled,” said B.J. Hallinan, co-owner of airport-based Port Townsend Aircraft Service, who heard the crash from his hangar and was one of the first to arrive at the crash site.
Hallinan said he found Cook, a frequent flier at the airport, to be coherent, even trying to get out of the crashed aircraft.
“He had hit his face,” Hallinan said, “but he was able to talk and knew where he was and who he was.”
Hallinan, who has been in the aircraft-repair business for more than 20 years, said he’s seen three crashes since opening the business three years ago.
“This is more than I’m use to seeing,” he said, saying that the crosswinds at the airport can be tricky.
The pilot was coming in from the east when he attempted to land, Hallinan said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the crash.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
