OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — A Sequim man was killed in the crash Tuesday night of a small plane that went down about five miles south of Port Angeles in Olympic National Park shortly after taking off, authorities said Wednesday.
Two women survived the crash with moderate injuries and spent the night in the park before hiking a mile down a steep trail late Wednesday afternoon.
They were escorted by teams from Clallam County Sheriff’s Search & Rescue and the National Park Service.
Barry Koehler, 57, was piloting a single-engine Cessna 182P he had rented from Rite Bros. Aviation Inc. at William R. Fairchild International Airport in Port Angeles.
Koehler, 32-year-old Tammi Hinkle and 34-year-old Sara Gagnon — both of Port Angeles — took off in the four-seat aircraft at about 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.
The three were headed to Boeing Field in Seattle, but did not file a flight plan for the 30-minute trip, according to Mike Fergus, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Renton.
Fergus said the pilot was navigating by visual flight rules, or VFR, , Fergus said.
The plane crashed in thickly forested terrain near Heart O’ the Hills Campground above Lake Dawn, said Olympic National Park spokeswoman Barb Maynes.
Campers reported hearing the sound of a low-flying plane and then what they thought was an impact about 10 p.m., Maynes said.
A friend of Hinkle and Gagnon, waiting for the plane’s arrival in Seattle, notified Boeing Field employees about 11 p.m. that it was overdue.
