Critically-injured pilot calmly describes plane crash to 911 operator

POULSBO, Wash. — A 70-year-old pilot who had just crashed his small plane on the Kitsap Peninsula sounded calm but shaken as he used a cellphone to call 911 for help.

“This is Kent Curtis, I just crashed my airplane,” Curtis told a 911 dispatcher.

Curtis had flown out of Auburn late Monday afternoon when he went down east of Poulsbo. The dispatcher worked with him to get his location.

“Are you injured?” asked the operator. “Well there’s a little blood but, I don’t know,” Curtis responded.

“Did you lose consciousness or anything like that?” the operator asked.

“Uh, I don’t think so. I don’t know. I don’t really know what happened,” Curtis said.

“One second (thought) I’m going to stay on the line with you. We’re getting the fire department and law enforcement dispatched, OK?” the operator asked.  “OK," Curtis responded, “I’m just, according to my GPS east of Poulsbo.”

Curtis also described the condition of his plane, a 1946 fixed-wing, single-engine Ercoupe, saying he didn’t know why he crashed.

“I can’t recollect immediately prior to the crash, I don’t know what happened but my plane is upside down,” Curtis told her adding, “and it’s a mess.”

Curtis was taken by ambulance to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. As of Wednesday he remained in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

KIRO