Two injured in plane crash near Palouse

PALOUSE – Two people were injured when a small plane crashed at a private airfield near Palouse on Sept. 15.

The plane crashed at Schoepflin Airport on Ringo Road at around 11 a.m., according to Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers.

“Initial reports indicate the student pilot, accompanied by his flight instructor, attempted to make a landing when the plane made a hard touchdown causing the landing gear to malfunction,” said Myers. “As a result, the plane flipped and came to rest on its top.”

The two male occupants were taken to area hospitals for injuries. They were not life-threatening, stated the sheriff.

A helicopter ambulance was on the scene, along with the Whitman County Sheriff's Office and an ambulance from the Palouse Fire Department.

“The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board have been notified and will be conducting a joint investigation into the cause of this accident,” said the sheriff.