BELLEVUE, Wash. — A single-engine plane crashed in a residential area of Bellevue around 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Two people were on the Cirrus SR-22 at the time and suffered no injuries, according to the Bellevue Fire Department (BFD). They were able to climb out of the plane when it landed.
According to the Bellevue Police Department, a parachute was deployed, appearing to slow the plane during the crash. The plane ended up in a wooded area near a residential neighborhood.
Bellevue police said the crash was caused by engine failure.
Bellevue Officer Seth Tyler told KING 5 that the two men in the plane were on a training flight from Renton when their engine failed over the Newport Hills neighborhood.
"We had several 911 callers say that they saw a plane with a parachute coming down in the wooded area near the Olympic Pipeline Trail," said Tyler.
As Tyler described, the residents were very fortunate that the plane landed in the woods behind their homes, rather than on the homes themselves. He said the pilot had no control over the direction of the plane once the parachute was deployed.
"So it's fortunate the plane came down in an area where there were no homes, it didn’t land on anyone," he said. "We don’t have a lot of aircraft incidents in Bellevue, and it’s fortunate that this one had a happy ending.”
Kiera Perez, a 13-year-old girl who lives in the area, saw the plane parachuting down.
"I was actually just making mac and cheese at my house, so um, we heard like a loud bang, so we thought it was like gunshots or something so we got scared," said Perez.
She said the parachute was bright and most certainly eye-catching.
"This particular plane is equipped with a parachute system. It’s called a CAPS system," said Officer Seth Tyler, spokesperson for the Bellevue Police Department.
Perez saw the two men climb out of the plane after it touched down on the ground.
"They were talkative, they were up walking, everything," she said.
Neighbors are said they are grateful knowing this could have had a very different ending; Newport Hill has about 5,600 residents per square mile.
"There’s always a lot of people walking. It’s just like a very populated area," said Perez.
Police said there was a small fuel leak from the incident, but fewer than 100 gallons.
Bellevue police tweeted a video of the plane going down:
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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