2 injured after small plane crashes outside Lakewood home

LAKEWOOD, Wash. - Crews are investigating after a small plane crashed in a residential neighborhood in Lakewood Tuesday afternoon. 

At around 12:30 p.m., crews with West Pierce Fire and Rescue (WPFR) responded to a plane crash near the corner of Greystone Dr. SW and Gravelly Lake Dr. SW. This area is just south of Steilacoom Lake.

According to the WPFR Chief Hallie McCurdy, two men were inside the float plane when it crashed into the front yard of a home. Both were immediately taken to a nearby hospital; one had to be airlifted, the other was taken by ambulance. 

Neighbors provided aid to the two men before first responders arrived. 

Authorities say the plane was on fire when crews arrived. The plane is destroyed, but the house was not damaged.

"I was scared. I mean, I didn’t know. It was a big fire," said neighbor Jay Petersen. "I was standing over there in our driveway and I could feel the heat."

"To be standing there outside your home and have a plane drop-down in your driveway and burst into flames, it’s all surreal," said Kimber Miller, a neighbor who lives nearby.

Cleanup crews hauled the scraps of the plane away later in the evening. Miller, and other neighbors, say the pilot lives in the area, and although he’s experienced, they believe he may have been flying a newer plane.

"One of our own had a really bad day with something he just purchased, and was enjoying life on this sunny day, and I don’t know what happened," said Miller.

Investigators are working to determine if the plane crashed when it was taking off or landing.