By Alan Gomez
USA Today
Copyright 2007 USA Today
TACOMA, Wash. — Two small planes collided Tuesday over water off Tacoma, Wash., and all four people on board survived — even after one plane made a crash landing into Commencement Bay.
The pilot of the plane that went into the bay was flying with his 73-year-old mother to Gig Harbor for lunch when his plane and another clipped each other, Tacoma Police Det. Thomas Williams said.
The plane went into a spiral but the pilot, who was not identified, pulled out in time to make a soft landing on the water, Williams said. The other plane managed to make it to a nearby airport and land safely.
Meanwhile, the pilot and his mother who landed in the bay climbed out of the plane as it was sinking. They clung to the craft until it sunk in 400 feet of water, Williams said. The son then held up his mother until a boater who had been nearby scooped them up.
“Just some good Samaritans,” Coast Guard Petty Officer Tara Molle said.
Williams said the mother suffered mild hypothermia and was expected to recover, Williams said.
The other plane received minor damage and its two passengers were not injured, Williams said. That plane landed at its intended destination at Thun Field in Puyallup, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma.
“I guess it was meant to be,” Williams said of the survivors. “They lost some property, but you can replace property.”
The names of the pilots and passengers on both planes were not made public.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said the cause of the crash was under investigation.
He said the planes involved in the crash were a Cessna 182 and an American Champion, both small, single-engine “pleasure planes.”
Kenitzer said the weather did not appear to be a factor in the crash.
“It’s clear and blue and sunny,” Kenitzer said of the flying conditions.
The second plane seemed to have only minor damage to its underside, said Bruce Thun, operations manager of the Pierce County Airport, known as Thun Field, which was named for his father.
A search of the bay area where the plane sank found no oil or fuel leaking from the plane, Williams said. An investigation was to be undertaken by the National Transportation Safety Board.