Plane crashes on Upper P. Lake

NORDMAN — No serious injuries were reported after a float plane crashed on Upper Priest Lake on Friday.

The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to Bonner County Sheriff’s Capt. Ror Lakewold.

“The plane did flip over on the water,” Lakewold said.

The crash was reported at 1:15 p.m. Lakewold said the Murphy Elite airplane was presumably coming in for a landing on the lake when something went awry.

Two people aboard the aircraft, a pilot and passenger reportedly from Washington state, suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment at the scene, Lakewold said.

The Murphy Elite is a Canadian-made light airplane sold to aviators as kits.

There were reports that the plane collided with a vessel on the lake, although Lakewold said there was no such collision.

“It definitely didn’t strike a boat. The only thing that a boat had to do with it was that fire boats went up and towed it from the middle of the lake,” said Lakewold.

Priest Lake Ambulance and North of the Narrows Fire District responded to the call, according to the Bonner EMS dispatch log. The aircraft was ultimately towed to the U.S. Forest Service’s Navigation campground on the Priest Lake Ranger District, the call log said.

Lakewold said there were no hazardous fuel spills as a result of the crash.