2 dead in Mason County plane crash

2 dead in Mason County plane crash

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Story Published: Jul 24, 2008 at 3:49 PM PDT

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2008 at 11:40 PM PDT

By KOMO Staff

MASON COUNTY - Two people were killed when a float plane crashed into a field in rural Mason County as it was taking off on Tuesday afternoon. The crash ignited a fire in a forest 11 miles west of Shelton.

Det. William Adam said the two victims were the only ones on board.

Crews bulldozed fire lines around the blaze in the forested terrain, and a helicopter was able to extinguish the flames with water scooped from nearby Lake Nahwatzel with a bucket.

Carol Acocks, a witness, said she saw the float plane make three previous attempts to take off from the lake. She said the plane's two occupants got out, looked at the plane and attempted to take off again.

She said the plane had just cleared the trees when its engine cut out. It then began losing altitude and crashed.

Another witness, Ryan Holden, said the plane's engine was very loud as it took off - much noisier than most of the float planes that take off from the lake. He said the plane's occupants seemed unconcerned and were apparently enjoying themselves before the crash.

Acocks and a companion fought their way through the brush to look for survivors, but saw no one coming from the burning aircraft. She said they could see flames coming from the plane's fuselage.

Aerial footage of the crash by KOMO News Air 4 helicopter moments after the 3 p.m. crash showed flames crackling through trees around the crash scene. Wreckage from the plane could be seen burning in the center of the burned area.

Fire crews quickly set up a staging area and cut a path through the forest to the 3-acre fire.

Crews were forced to stay some 30 feet back from the crash site, but the blaze was contained within hours.

The victims' names have not been released.

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