LA PUSH, Wash. (AP) - A Richland man under investigation for potentially stealing an airplane from Jefferson County International Airport was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle after a Navy helicopter pilot spotted airport wreckage in Olympic National Park, authorities said.
Chief Criminal Deputy Brian King of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office said Richard R. Jordal, 59, was in critical condition Wednesday afternoon, the Peninsula Daily News reported.
The pilot from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island spotted the plane at about 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, said Sgt. Brett Anglin of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.
Anglin said the sheriff’s office is investigating the theft of a Cessna 150 from Jefferson County International Airport that was tracked until the GPS signal was lost in the vicinity of the crash.
Jordal is believed to be connected to the theft and is at this point a person of interest, Anglin said. Anglin said an unidentified man unsuccessfully tried to rent an aircraft from a private aircraft owner at the airport on Monday.
Two Quileute tribal members reported that they saw a low-flying aircraft in La Push at 10:39 p.m. and 10:42 p.m. Monday; one heard an explosion, King said.
La Push police and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office personnel tried looking for the crash site Tuesday night but were halted by weather conditions, Anglin said.
Quileute tribal spokeswoman Jackie Jacobs said Clallam County firefighters and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office secured the crash site for Federal Aviation Administration investigators.
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