ST. GEORGE, Utah — A flight originating from St. George, Utah, ended in a harrowing crash landing Monday morning when a small aircraft veered off the runway in Oregon and came to rest in a nearby body of water.
The incident occurred shortly after 6 a.m. at the Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend. According to airport officials, the plane — carrying four passengers and one crew member — skidded off the runway and landed in Coos Bay, about 100 feet from the airstrip.
First responders, alerted by an iPhone crash detection system, quickly arrived on scene and rescued all five individuals from the water, according to the North Bend Fire Department. Authorities confirmed that all occupants sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious, but were in stable condition when taken to a local hospital.
Bay Area Hospital later provided an update, stating one patient was admitted for further care, another was transferred to a facility offering specialized treatment, two were released, and one remained under evaluation.
By 8:40 a.m., the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) gave the go-ahead for a local recovery crew to remove the aircraft. Using a crane and barge, salvage teams successfully lifted the damaged plane from the bay while also containing any potential fuel or hazardous leaks, fire officials said.
Although regular airport operations have resumed, the exact cause of the crash remains under investigation by federal aviation authorities.
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