Small plane crash lands near Graham after losing power

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. - A small plane crash-landed Saturday in a church parking lot near Graham after losing power, fire officials said. 

All three occupants - two students and an instructor - walked away without major injuries, Graham Fire & Rescue spokesman Steve Richards said.

Richards gave this account of the incident:

The plane lost power shortly after taking off at Shady Acres Airport in Spanaway while one of the students was piloting the craft. The instructor took over controls and landed the plane at about 5:45 p.m. in a church parking lot in the 18700 block of 187th Street East.

Wreckage from a crash landing near Graham (Q13 News photo)

Officials from Graham Fire & Rescue and the Pierce County Sheriff's office were on-scene investigating.  

This is the second small aircraft that has crashed in Pierce County in the past few days. On Thursday, a small plane crashed in a parking lot in the South Hill area after taking off from Thun Field. The pilot in that incident was said to have minor injuries.