Two people were killed after a float plane crashed into the Columbia River in Kennewick, Washington, in an accident that has prompted a federal investigation and left thousands without power. According to a report from FOX 13 Seattle, the crash unfolded over the river that runs through the area, turning a routine afternoon into the scene of a fatal aviation accident. The incident has drawn attention not only because of the deaths but also because of the disruption it caused in the surrounding community.
Video from the scene captured the float plane being lifted out of the river earlier this evening near the Cable Bridge at Clover Island. The footage of the aircraft being recovered from the water offered a stark image of the aftermath, as crews worked to pull the plane from the Columbia River. The location, near a prominent local bridge, placed the crash in a visible part of the community and underscored the scale of the response required to deal with it.
Officials say the crash happened sometime this afternoon, before the recovery effort that was seen in the evening. While the exact moment of the crash was still being pieced together, authorities established that it occurred during the afternoon hours. That timeline framed the sequence of events that led from the crash itself to the later operation to lift the wreckage out of the water and the confirmation of the deaths.
A key detail in the early account is what happened just before the plane went into the river. Officials confirmed that the plane clipped some power lines before crashing into the water. That contact with the power lines appears to have been part of the chain of events leading to the crash, and it also explains the wider impact on the area. The crash knocked out power to more than 11,000 people and businesses in Benton County, turning an aviation accident into a significant disruption for the surrounding community.
The human toll was confirmed as crews completed their work at the scene. Officials have confirmed that two people, both men, were recovered from the crash scene. The recovery of the two victims marked the grim conclusion of the immediate response, shifting the focus to identifying those who died. The Franklin County Coroner is working to identify them, a process that will determine who the two men were and allow their families to be notified.
With the victims recovered and the wreckage removed, attention now turns to determining what caused the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating, taking on the task of examining how the float plane came to clip the power lines and go down into the river. The federal inquiry is expected to look at the circumstances of the flight and the moments leading up to the crash, as the community absorbs the loss of two lives and the disruption left in the accident's wake.