QUILCENE — The pilot of a small aircraft that crashed while attempting to land over the weekend was due to be released late Monday.
The small yellow plane, a vintage Piper PA-18-135 Super Cub, crashed in a field off Center Road while attempting to land Saturday after the pilot, Gerald Ryder, determined he did not have enough fuel to reach Jefferson County International Airport in Port Townsend.
Ryder, 78, and his passenger Edward Shapiro, 69, both of Port Townsend, were heading back to Port Townsend after flying to Newhalem in Whatcom County for lunch.
The fuel problem caused them to attempt a landing at Kimshan Ranch Airport.
The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. according to police reports.
Ryder was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, said his domestic partner, Ann Norton.
“He’s doing great,” Norton said.
“He had some broken bones in his arm and his back and a bump on his head, but he’s up and walking around.”
Shapiro walked away from the crash, according to a narrative supplied by Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Denney.
Shapiro, who also is a pilot, told deputies that the plane was too high to land and did not have fuel for another attempt.
It landed and flipped upside-down, Shapiro said.
The Sheriff’s Office, Quilcene Fire and Rescue, Port Ludlow Fire and Rescue, East Jefferson Fire-Rescue and officials from the Federal Aviation Administration’s Seattle Flight Standards District Office responded to the scene.
The property was secured until an inspection by the FAA could be scheduled, deputies said.
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
