Experienced pilot lost power, lands plane in Columbia River

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — An experienced pilot made an emergency landing on the Columbia River after the engine on his small plane quit as he approached the Troutdale Airport Monday afternoon.

Rick Boettcher, who has more than 25 years as a pilot, walked away unhurt after the crash landing around 3:15 p.m. near Gary Island Park in the Sandy River Delta.

Boettcher climbed over the passenger seat and got out on his own, then swam to dry land where he was picked up and taken to Chinook Landing to be medically checked.

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“I was coming downwind to land in Troutdale. As I was turning to base — pilots will know what this is — the engine quit. I didn’t have enough altitude to make it to the runway so I had to plan my landing, because when your engine quits you have to land,” Boettcher told KOIN 6 News. “And the best possible spot was not in the wires, you know, those high power wire that go in. And a water landing seemed like my best bet.”

Boettcher, 73, said it was his first emergency landing he’s had to make in a quarter-century of flying. He said he tried everything he could to get his Mooney 231 up and running mid-flight.

“It wouldn’t restart,” he said.

His next move was to crash land into the shallow waters of the Columbia River.

“You have just seconds, really, to figure out what to do,” he said. “Fly the airplane. That’s what you have to do. So that’s what I did, and I, you know, of course things run through your mind, but you’ve got to pay attention to business.”

Emergency crews from Gresham and Portland Airport Fire & Rescue rushed to the scene to help, as did the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.

Mike Traeger, one of the responders from Gresham, said they had trouble finding him at first before he was spotted “on the South Channel towards Gary Island and in some shallow water.”

Traeger said in his career he doesn’t remember another plane-into-water crash where the pilot walked away.

“I don’t remember another one. Usually they make it to the airport, and then they’re there,” he said. “They have us come out there because when they land, they may be under power or they might, in case it goes bad, we’re there to help them out.”

The US Coast Guard is spearheading efforts to retrieve the plane from under six feet of water. The FAA will look into the cause of the crash landing.

Boettcher said he’s thankful to live another day.

“I don’t know what, but I did the right thing. I feel like I want to go home and go to bed and forget about it all.”

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