Pilot Unhurt After Crashing Small Parachute Plane in Yakima River
According to sources, a pilot is unharmed, although pretty cold, after his paraglider aircraft crashed into the Yakima River near Prosser Wednesday morning. The aircraft he was flying likely looked like this one.
Officials were called to the area of the river near Prosser, after the plane got stuck, literally. A paraglider is a small one seat aircraft that uses an engine and propeller to keep it moving, but the 'wing' consists of a parachute.
These aircraft fly rather slow, most contain at least a pair of wheels or tricycle landing gear. The pilot apparently got too low, the wheels hit and went just under the water, causing the plane to stop moving. That, in turn, caused the chute to 'deflate or lose it's ability to keep the plane in the air, and kept the pilot from being able to get out of the water.
People nearby heard or saw the crash and called 911. Benton County sheriff's and other rescue crews were able to pull the pilot from the water. He was not hurt.