Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue (CCFR) reported there were no survivors after a small single-engine aircraft crashed and burst into flames in a field at Goheen Airport, a public-use airfield with a grass runway north of Battle Ground, shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26.
Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Mike Jackson said emergency responders were unable to determine how many occupants were on board the aircraft. Jackson added that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was notified of the incident while fire crews were at the scene Friday.
According to the FAA, as of The Reflector’s deadline, it remained unknown how many occupants were in the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate the crash.
“Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue responded with Fire District 3 and Fire District 10 to reports of a small plane crash near Goheen Airport north of Battle Ground,” CCFR stated in an update online, noting that personnel arrived at the scene at 1:08 p.m. “Engine 22 arrived on scene in approximately 7 minutes to a single-engine airplane fully engulfed in flames in a field near the airport. Crews quickly extinguished the fire and prevented it from spreading to nearby trees and structures. Unfortunately, there were no survivors from the crash. CCFR crews turned the scene over to Clark County Sheriff's Office, who will coordinate with the FAA and NTSB for further investigation.”
According to scanner information from CRESA 911 on the Pulsepoint app, nine fire apparatus responded to the scene from multiple fire districts and had the fire contained immediately around the aircraft, preventing further spread of a vegetation fire.
In a FlightRadar24 app playback, a Cessna 172F Skyhawk appeared last on radar at 300 feet at a ground speed of 105 knots before appearing off radar at the airport. Additionally, on the Aviation Safety Network, information relays the Cessna 172F Skyhawk, tail No. N8219U, having a manufacturing year of 1964.
The flight path on globe.adsbexchange.com shows the Cessna originating on radar at 1,300 feet over Longview, likely taking off from the Southwest Washington Regional Airport in Kelso before heading over the Columbia River then east to the north of Battle Ground. The plane made three loops over north Clark County between 1,500 feet and 2,000 feet from the ground. The last loop before heading toward Goheen Airport occurred near Northeast 299th Street and state Route 503. A nearby resident, Jeff Waddell, said he saw an aircraft performing stalls around 1 p.m. from his farm near Northeast 299th Street and state Route 503.
The plane then flew toward Goheen, staying east of the runway around 800 feet before looping back and lining up with the runway. After lining up with the grass runway, the plane next reappears on radar at 200 feet in the air southeast of the grass runway, leading to another loop reaching 1,000 feet in the air before turning too far west of the runway and coming back toward the runway. The plane is last on radar at 300 feet around 1:06 p.m.
The flight radar path also appears to have had a transponder issue in the area of the airport, located off Northeast 279th Street near Battle Ground, during the flight’s go-around leading to the crash.
