Small plane crashed in woods near Enumclaw. Pilot had to be rescued from cockpit

A pilot survived after crashing a small plane in the woods near Enumclaw Sunday.

Authorities were notified about 4 p.m. that the 50-year-old man had lost control of the single-engine plane while flying from The Dalles, Oregon to Paine Field in Everett, but they were unsure where the aircraft had crashed.

Firefighters and sheriff’s deputies were scouting the area for signs of wreckage when a man called to report a plane in the forest near his home in the 39200 block of Veazie-Cumberland Road.

“I was out working on my truck and I heard a loud explosion,” John Konop told KIRO-7. “It sounded almost like scaffolding falling off a building.”

Meanwhile, the pilot had called 911 to report that he was trapped and thought he smelled gasoline.

Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority firefighters found the plane in a ravine after breaking into several pieces. The passenger compartment was mostly intact and rescuers were able to pull the pilot out.

Although rescuers wanted to fly him to a nearby hospital, weather forced paramedics to transport the pilot in an ambulance.

He was reported to be in stable condition, but he broke a few bones and suffered a head injury.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

This story was originally published March 5, 2018 at 8:19 AM with the headline "Small plane crashed in woods near Enumclaw. Pilot had to be rescued from cockpit."