A pilot is lucky to be alive after his small aircraft crashed Friday at Porter Field on Whidbey Island.
Fire crews who were called to the scene said the pilot was the only one on board and he was injured and airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.
The plane caught fire and burned during the crash but fire crews put out the flames, South Whidbey Fire/Emergency Medical Services officials said.
Officials with Whidbey Airpark said the aircraft was a home-built Sonex and the crash happened while the pilot was returning from his flight.
Federal Aviation Administration officials said the aircraft crashed short of the runway.
No information was provided on the pilot's specific injury.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.
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