Plane Crashes Into Columbia River Near Pasco, Triggering Power Outages, Fire Response, and Multi-Agency Rescue Effort
Pasco, Washington — Wednesday afternoon — A major emergency response unfolded Wednesday after a small aircraft crashed into the Columbia River near Pasco, causing widespread power outages, sparking a brush fire, and launching an extensive rescue and recovery operation involving multiple agencies.
Initial reports indicated the incident occurred near Clover Island and the Cable Bridge, with witnesses reporting that the aircraft may have struck high-tension transmission lines before entering the river.
Emergency dispatch records indicated crews were alerted shortly after 2:35 p.m., with first responders arriving to find an aircraft in the water on the Pasco side of the Columbia River.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing civilians attempting to reach the aircraft and assist those inside before emergency boats arrived.
According to preliminary information from emergency communications, the aircraft appeared to drift downstream after entering the river, eventually moving toward the Pasco shoreline east of the bridge.
The plane clipped a powerline That has started a grass fire. Civilians are attempting to make contact with the plane on the water.
Emergency responders from Pasco Fire, Kennewick Fire, regional rescue units, and utility crews from Benton PUD and Franklin PUD were dispatched to the scene. 
Rescue boats and dive teams were requested as crews worked to reach the aircraft and search the surrounding water.
At the same time, significant infrastructure impacts were reported across the Tri-Cities area.
Officials said the transmission line failure caused widespread outages, with approximately 11,000 customers initially reported without power. Large portions of Kennewick experienced service interruptions, and multiple traffic signals went offline.
The City of Pasco also issued a request asking residents to conserve water while utility systems operated under outage conditions.
Early witness accounts suggested one victim located in the water and two others were evacuated from the aircraft. 
Emergency operations remained active into the afternoon as crews worked across several fronts simultaneously: rescue and recovery efforts, aircraft investigation, fuel spill mitigation, fire suppression, restoration of electrical service, and public safety management.
Officials are expected to provide additional confirmed details as the investigation progresses.
Residents are encouraged to avoid the area and monitor official emergency and utility updates.
