Single engine plane crashes in Silverdale

A single engine airplane crashed at the Apex Airport off Dickey Road in Silverdale Saturday afternoon during a landing competition, injuring both pilot and passenger aboard.

Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue firefighters and Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene and treated both the pilot, a 53-year-old Bremerton man, and passenger, a 28-year-old Woodinville man, for minor injuries. The Federal Aviation Administration also was notified of the crash.

“The propellor and landing gear were broken,” said CKFR Spokeswoman Theresa MacLennan. “There were a cluster of people (around the plane) and the pilot and passenger had crawled out.”

Upon arrival, fire crews found the small, amateur-built aircraft off the runway, landing gear and prop broken with fuel leaking. After immediately treating the pilot and passenger, firefighters worked with a group of plane owners to assess the fuel leakage and clean the remaining fuel.

The Apex Annual Picnic along with the Experimental Aircraft Association has been hosted for more than 20 years without incident, according to reports. During the competition on Saturday, five experimental planes were competing in a spot land competition where each pilot attempted to land their plane as close to the designated line on the runway as possible. Of the five planes competing in the event on Saturday, the plane that crashed was fourth to take off from the field.

Immediately after take off and 40 feet in the air, the pilot said the plane destabilized and was unsuccessful at attempting to correct the problem when he crashed into the field. The plane had a substantial amount of damage due to the emergency landing.

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