Two people were killed Wednesday when a small plane slammed into a transmission line and crashed into the Columbia River near Pasco, plunging the Tri-Cities into an afternoon of chaos that included widespread power outages, a river rescue operation and a brush fire along the shoreline.
The aircraft went down near the Cable Bridge, hit the water upside down and drifted downstream before emergency crews could secure it. A crane was later brought in to haul the mangled wreckage from the river, while crews knocked down a brush fire in a field beside Riverview Park and locked down the crash scene for investigators.
Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary confirmed that two bodies were recovered from the submerged plane and said autopsies are pending, according to NBC Right Now. Pasco Fire crews used boats to keep the overturned aircraft from drifting while teams from the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, Benton County Sheriff's Office, Columbia Basin Dive Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard worked the scene. Lampson Crane was called in to help pull the plane from the water.
The crash unfolded around 3:30 p.m. near the Cable Bridge after the plane struck a transmission line over Clover Island, which knocked out power to thousands of customers and ignited the nearby field fire, FOX 13 Seattle reported. The aircraft hit the river inverted and drifted downstream until responders intervened.
Power outages and river response
Benton PUD reported that power was later restored to affected customers, but the outage briefly darkened traffic signals and disrupted operations at the Butterfield Water Treatment Plant, leading officials to ask residents to curb water use until systems were fully back online, according to NBC Right Now. Spill response teams were deployed to watch for fuel or other contaminants in the river as crews worked the recovery.
Authorities temporarily restricted boat traffic around Clover Island Marina while law enforcement guided vessels through a no-wake zone to keep the water as calm as possible during the operation.
What investigators will look at
The National Transportation Safety Board has opened a formal investigation and is working with local agencies to document the wreckage, gather physical evidence and interview witnesses, according to NTSB. The agency notes that a preliminary factual report is typically released within about two weeks, while a final report can take many months.
Investigators are expected to examine whether mechanical problems, pilot actions or environmental conditions played a role in the plane striking the transmission line.
Officials have asked the public to steer clear of the crash area while recovery and on-scene work continue, and urged anyone who saw the incident or captured video to contact investigators, FOX 13 Seattle reported. The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is leading the local investigation, while the coroner's office handles identification of the victims and notification of families. More information is expected once agencies finish their on-scene work and release formal updates.
