On Thursday night, a plane flying in and out of the Enumclaw airport crash landed in the nearby Rainier Trails Park.

The Enumclaw Police Department started receiving calls about the crash around 8:56 p.m.

The plane, a single-engine Cessna 172, was nose down in the grass, just a few feet away from the playground at the park.

When first responders arrived, the pilot was pinned inside the aircraft and was extracted by the Enumclaw Fire Department.

According to EFD Fire Chief Randy Fehr, 32 firefighters and were on the scene, including crews from the Buckley City Fire Department, Mountain View Fire and Rescue, Puget Sound Regional Fire Authority, King County Medic 1 and Maple Valley Life and Safety.

The other two passengers were treated at the scene.

According to a police press release, the pilot and one of the passengers were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center with life threatening injuries.

The third passenger was driven to Harborview with serious injuries.

It’s been reported on Friday, July 29, one man was upgraded to serious condition, and the woman to satisfactory condition.

There were no other injuries, as the playground was empty at the time of the crash.

That Friday morning, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were examining the crash.

Cari Enticknap, one of the many people in her neighborhood that heard the crash, said the pilot could have been practicing “touch and go’s” when he crashed.

“There was a lot of take off, land, take off, land, take off, land,” she said. “And then the awkward takeoff and the crash.”

It is not confirmed whether the plane was taking off or landing.

It does appear the pilot hit a barbed wire fence on the side of the road along 244th Avenue SE. This might have at least partially caused the crash, as barbed wire could be seen wrapped around the plane’s wings and tail.

Pieces of the fence could also be seen scattered near the entrance of the neighborhood.

Enticknap said on that last run, the pilot cleared their house by just about 10 or 15 feet before he turned around and crashed at the park.

“Our kids usually play football here in this field,” she said. “Last night thankfully none of them were out here.”

Other witnesses said it was unusual the pilot was taking off east, toward the neighborhood, as the vast majority of planes take off and land facing west.