Pilot injured in plane crash near Priest Lake

COOLIN - A pilot from Washington state was severely injured after crashing his plane while attempting to land at an airstrip near Priest Lake's Cavanaugh Bay on Tuesday.

Bonner County Sheriff's officials identified the pilot as Dr. John Hershey of Chattaroy, Wash. He was pulled from the wreckage of his Cessna 152 and flown to Kootenai Medical Center in Coeur d'Alene by a Northwest MedStar helicopter.

Hershey, 86, was listed in critical condition on Tuesday afternoon. Hershey is a surgeon who practices in Spokane. The crash happened at 11 a.m.

Witnesses told authorities the plane appeared to be experiencing trouble on its final approach and veered off the grassy airstrip into the woods.

An off-duty Bonner County EMS worker happened to be at the nearby Idaho Department of Lands office when the crash was reported. Gretchen Rice and a crew of IDL woodland firefighters immediately responded to the scene, said Bonner County EMS spokesman Bob Abbott.

They bushwhacked through the woods for about 100 yards until they found the wrecked plane and Hershey, who was reportedly still conscious when rescuers arrived. Aviation gas seeped from the plane as they extricated Hershey from the wreckage, Abbott said.

"It was mangled," Abbott said of the aircraft's cabin. "But not to the point where he had to be cut out."

Responders then punched a path into the woods so emergency vehicles could reach the downed plane and its pilot.

"The IDL crew basically chewed a road into the woods," Abbott said.

Abbott said the coordinated response from Priest Lake Ambulance, IDL, Coolin-Cavanaugh Bay Fire Protection District, MedStar, the sheriff's office and Bonner EMS went off without a hitch.

"Everything just worked perfectly," he said.

Sheriff's officials said the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the crash.