INDIAN VALLEY — A small pontoon plane made a dramatic emergency landing on a narrow pond 2 miles west of the Elwha River on Sunday.
There were no injuries reported for the pilot and passenger, who were in the orange Cessna A185-F, which went down at about
2:15 p.m. in a heavily forested area near 237477 Highway 101, north of the road near Arcadia Place.
“It’s remarkable that he was able to put the plane down as he did and no one got hurt,” said Sgt. Nick Turner, of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Pilot Josh Armstrong of Sequim said that he and a passenger Wade Rozander of Nanton, Alberta, were on a sightseeing flight Sunday afternoon and were on their way back to Sequim.
They took off from Lake Sutherland at about 2 p.m., when the plane’s engine quit over Indian Valley.
“I guess this is what you always do the training for — emergency engine failure,” Armstrong said.
Armstrong sighted a 300-foot long, 20- to 50-foot- wide manmade pond in the middle of a cluster of trees.
“I had a quick choice to make — either onto the highway with all the cars, or on the lake,” Armstrong said.
“It was the smallest water I’ve ever landed on,” he said.
The plane went over a berm at the end of the pond and came to rest upright in a marshy area on the other side.
“It got my heart going pretty quick,” Armstrong said.
Turner said he was impressed with Armstrong’s piloting skill. “It was quite a challenge,” he said.
The only obvious damage to the plane was a bent pontoon.
An area resident saw the plane go down, calling 9-1-1 at about the same time Armstrong called and guiding rescuers to his position.
Units from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, the Lower Elwha Police Department, the Port Angeles Police Department and the U.S. Border Patrol, along with Clallam County Fire District 2, responded to the scene.
Representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board were expected to be at the scene Sunday or early today to investigate the landing, Turner said.
Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
