Experimental Airplane Crashes Near Independence

The pilot was life-flighted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland with possible spinal injuries.

Special thanks to Dean Bender and the Polk County Sheriff's Office for these images of the crashed plane.

(INDEPENDENCE, Ore.) - A small experimental airplane crashed today just north of the Independence Airport. The Polk County Sheriff's Office was advised of the crash just before 4:00 PM.

Sheriff's Office Spokesman Dean Bender says the owner and pilot of the two-seater "experimental type plane" is 59-year old John "Mike" Pongracz who lives on Airport Way at the Independence Airport Airpark.

He had just taken off from the airport when he started having engine trouble, Bender said "It appears that he was attempting to return to the airport but was unable to and crashed into a grassy field that borders the area north of the runway."

Initial assessments gave the appearance that Mr. Pongracz received minor injuries from the crash. He was transported by Polk County Fire District #1 EMS to Salem Hospital to be checked out.

But Bender says the news worsened, "According to Salem Hospital, Mr. Pongracz injuries are more severe then previously thought. He is now being life-flighted to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland with possible spinal injuries."

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified of the crash and an investigator from the FAA was dispatched from McMinnville to further investigate the crash scene.