Two people were killed in Pasco, Washington on June 24 in a plane crash. A floatplane struck a power line spanning the Columbia River near Clover Island in Kennewick, causing both the aircraft and an energized cable to fall into the water.
Multi-agency river rescue response
The aircraft ended up inverted in the river and was carried downstream before Pasco Fire crews used a boat to secure and stop its movement, reported Tri-City Herald.
Multiple agencies, including the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, Columbia Basin Dive Rescue teams, and the U.S. Coast Guard, were involved in the water response.
Onshore, Pasco Police secured the area and handled documentation of the scene, while the Washington State Patrol assisted with coordination. The Pasco Police released a statement after the crash. “We’re dealing with a series of incidents near the river. Please avoid the area, conserve water as you can, and treat any signal that isn’t operational as a four way stop,” they said.
Roughly two hours after the crash, a Lampson crane was used to recover the aircraft from the water, which appeared largely intact. About 20 police and fire units were present at the scene, responding to the incident.
In an earlier post the Pasco government had noted “Update at 6:20 pm: request to conserve water has been lifted. Thank you for your understanding and patience as crews worked to restore power to the pump stations and Butterfield Water Treatment Plant. PASCO: Please conserve water. Due to the emergency near the cable bridge and loss of power, we’re asking residents to avoid the area and conserve water. We will update as possible.”
Damaged line causes blaze
According to NBA Tri-Cities, authorities also reported that a damaged power line ignited a fire in an open field near Riverview Park and caused widespread outages affecting homes, businesses, and traffic signals in parts of Pasco.
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Kennewick police and fire crews managed the downed power line on Clover Island, with additional support coming from agencies across the river.
Officials added that the flight did not appear to originate from the Richland or Pasco airports.
A video from a local news channel showed smoke from afar after the plane crashed.
Aircraft ownership under review
Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary confirmed that two bodies were recovered from the wreckage and said autopsies are pending.
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His office is now working alongside the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as the investigation continues.
A review of the aircraft’s tail number indicated that the plane had multiple owners, with registration records tying it to an address in Sonoma, California.
Boat access restricted area
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office urged boaters to avoid the river in the affected area on Wednesday afternoon, as emergency crews managed the response.
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Meanwhile, traffic on the cable bridge became heavily backed up about an hour after the crash, causing significant delays in the area.
The Benton PUD deployed a boom truck at the river around 3:30pm in an effort to restore power after the outage, which affected more than 11,000 customers in the area.
