GARDINER — Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies located a crash site of a small plane about 5:20 p.m. Wednesday and were trying to figure out a rescue plan.
Deputies from both the Clallam County and Jefferson County sheriff’s offices responded to a report of downed aircraft about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a tweet from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
A command center was set up about 3:45 p.m. at Craig Heights Lane, and both a drone and the U.S. Coast Guard were used in the search.
Deputies were checking with the Federal Aviation Administration at about 4:25 p.m. regarding whether a flight plan had been filed.
A crash site was discovered late in the afternoon southwest of Gardiner, and by 5:45 p.m., deputies were organizing a search party to go to the site.
A rescue helicopter from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island circles the area where a plane crashed on Wednesday in forested terrain southwest of Gardiner. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
