VANCOUVER, Wash. — One person died when a small plane crashed at Pearson Field in Vancouver on Tuesday morning, according to Vancouver police, Washington State Patrol (WSP) and fire officials in Clark County.
The airfield is located at 101 East Reserve Street in Vancouver. Police responded to reports of a plane crash at about 7:39 a.m. and found an aircraft on the runway on fire, according to a Vancouver Police Department news release.
Vancouver Fire personnel put out the fire and confirmed that one person inside the plane was deceased. The Vancouver Police Department is conducting a death investigation, and the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will conduct an investigation of the crash.
The deceased person's identity and cause of death will be released by the Clark County Medical Examiner's Office after the family has been notified, police said.
Vancouver operates the airfield and owns just under half of the 134-acre site, according to the city's website. The remainder is owned by the National Park Service as part of the Vancouver National Historic Reserve and leased to the city for airfield use under a long-term agreement.
Pearson is one of the oldest continually operating airfields in the United States. Its first use as an airfield took place in 1905 when it was used as a landing site for a dirigible, and the first plane landed at the site in 1911, according to the city.
The modern-day site also houses the Pearson Air Museum, the Jack Murdock Aviation Center and the Pearson Field Education Center for grade school students. The airport sees about 52,560 aircraft operations per year or about 144 per day, according to the city.
The airport was named in 1925 after Lt. Alexander Pearson, a well-known U.S. Army Air Service pilot who attended high school in Vancouver. The Air Service operated the field from 1923 to 1941, but after World War II it was declared surplus land and sold to the city.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
