By Louis Krauss – Register-Guard

A small airplane crashed Thursday morning into a field north of the Eugene Airport, leaving one person in critical condition, according to law enforcement at the scene.

The crash, reported a little after 10:30 a.m., occurred in a field west of Green Hill Road and north of Meadowview Road.

The Lane County Sheriff’s Office responded along with emergency responders, after which they found the victim among the debris, according to Sgt. Marvin Combs. 

“We arrived with fire responders, located the debris field, and an adult male victim in the debris field,” Combs said. 

The plane was a small Cessna aircraft, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. 

The man was transported to PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend in Springfield in “serious to critical condition,” according to Combs. 

The plane was in pieces after the crash, Combs said, adding that the Sheriff’s Office would stay on the scene until the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board arrive.

There is no indication of what caused the crash so far, Combs said. 

Katy Earls, 38, lives across the field from where the crash happened, and said she didn’t see anything but heard the sounds when the plane crashed.

“I thought it might have been crop dusting, because I heard it go by twice, I thought, and then I heard a sputter,” Earls said. “I saw some people, fire trucks and ambulances drive by, and then I saw people looking in the field.”

Assistant Airport Director Andrew Martz said the Eugene Airport was not investigating the issue because it’s not on the airport’s grounds.

“It’s not on airport grounds, so it’s not an airport matter,” Martz said, noting that he did not know if the plane was heading for the Eugene Airport. 

https://www.registerguard.com/story/news/2021/05/20/one-injured-airplane-crash-field-north-eugene-airport/5187914001/