A small plane crash on Tuesday in the Quinault region of Olympic National Park in Washington left one person dead and two seriously injured. Rangers learned of the crash on July 15 around 6:50 p.m., park officials said in a news release. The plane, a Murphy SR3500 Moose, crashed on a steep, forested slope near the Irely Lake Trailhead.
The park’s rangers worked with Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Search and Rescue to respond to the incident. The three occupants were transferred to a nearby trauma center, where one was pronounced deceased and the other two were treated for injuries.
“At the moment, the two survivors are hospitalized and undergoing treatment, so we are not releasing their identifying information,” park spokesperson Molly Pitman told GearJunkie on Wednesday.
At this time, the cause of the crash is not clear. It is currently under review by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Incidents involving small personal aircraft are not unheard of in national parks. On July 7, a small float plane crash-landed in Alaska’s Katmai National Park. All four occupants survived with minor injuries.
Other fatal plane crashes have occurred in Grand Teton National Park in 2013, Denali National Park in 2018, Death Valley National Park in 2019, and Shenandoah National Park in 2020.
