Plane crashes south of Chehalis-Centralia Airport, investigation underway
Published 1:30 am Saturday, September 13, 2025
One person was transported to a hospital via a Life Flight helicopter following a plane crash that occurred on the approach path just south of the Chehalis-Centralia Airport early in the afternoon on Thursday, Sept. 11, Chehalis Police Deputy Chief Matt McKnight — a first responder on the scene — told The Chronicle.
According to a Chehalis Police Department news release, officers were dispatched to the scene at 12:14 p.m.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered that an experimental aircraft had gone down in a field near the Chehalis River and state Route 6,” the release stated. “The pilot, a 55 year-old male, was rescued and treated by members of the Chehalis Fire Department before being transported for further medical care.”
The release added drugs and alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the crash and aside from the pilot, no other passengers were in the plane.
The Chehalis Police Department thanked the public for its patience while state Route 6 was closed along with the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol and the Washington state Department of Corrections for their assistance with the crash investigation — which is still ongoing. No other information was given.
While no details are known as to the pilot’s identity, exact type of aircraft or cause of the crash, the wreckage of what appeared to be a small, single-engined, propeller-driven, fixed-wing aircraft with a white and red paint scheme was found on the approach path just north of state Route 6 in Chehalis and south of Northwest Shoreline Drive near the bank of the Chehalis River.
The Chronicle reached out to Chehalis-Centralia Airport Director Brandon Rakes for comment, but he did not know any details at the time. He did ask for those with drones to keep them out of the air as the crash occurred near the airport on the approach path.
