Watch as onboard parachute saves small plane from crashing into Washington suburb

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Watch as onboard parachute saves small plane from crashing into Washington suburb

Saman Shafiq
 USA TODAYplayShow CaptionHide Caption#videoDetailsToggle{color:var( –color-dove-gray,rgba(0,0,0,.6));cursor:pointer;display:inline-block;font-family:var(–sans-serif,sans-serif);font-size:var(–type-7);font-weight:var( –font-weight-bold,900);line-height:var(–spacer-twentyfour,24px);margin-bottom:-8px}#vdt_hide{margin-bottom:10px}.vdt-flex[hidden]{display:none}.vdt-svg{fill:var( –color-dove-gray,rgba(0,0,0,.6));height:var(–spacer-twentyfour,24px);width:var(–spacer-twentyfour,24px)}Small plane’s parachute cushions landing after engine failsA pilot and his passenger are safe and unhurt after their small plane’s engine failed, prompting the aircraft’s emergency parachute to deploy.

A small plane, out on a training flight, fell in a neighborhood in Bellevue after its engine failed, but was able to land unharmed after the pilot deployed the plane’s onboard parachute.

The Bellevue Fire Department, in an update on Facebook, said that 911 emergency services received multiple calls a little after 5 p.m. Tuesday about a small plane in distress, above a Newport Hills neighborhood in south Bellevue, about 12 miles from downtown Seattle.

“Some callers reported seeing a parachute, while others described it as a crash,” said the fire department.

Authorities arrived on scene and found that two people were onboard the plane of which one was a flight instructor and the other a student.

Plane’s engine failed

“An unknown issue arose, and they began to look for a place to put the aircraft down safely,” said the fire department, adding that the pilot utilized an onboard parachute designed for the plane to land the aircraft in a swamp area off the pipeline trail. A spokesperson for the Bellevue Police Department told USA TODAY over email that the engine on the plane failed, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.

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Video footage from the incident shows the plane slowly coming down with the parachute before falling in a wooded area.

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Both people onboard were not injured, while the plane, identified as a Cirrus SR22 by Bellevue Police, was deemed safe after it was inspected for risk of catching fire.

The fire department said that the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified of the incident and that the NTSB was “en route to the scene” following the crash.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @saman_shafiq7.

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