Airplane lands at busy Genesee Park in South Seattle

A Cessna 210 had just been cleared to land at Boeing Field on Monday afternoon when it lost power over Lake Washington, forcing the pilot to bring it down in the middle of a South Seattle park dotted with families enjoying a warm, peaceful afternoon.

Eleven-year-old Justin Leary-Bignayan, of Seattle, was helping his father fold up their badminton net when he saw the plane roll out of high grass at the edge of Genesee Park.

"I was like, 'Hey, Dad, look! The airplane crashed.' "

The plane hopped across the grass before rolling to a stop. Its right wing apparently struck a post, sustaining some damage.

Sgt. Ian Foster of the Seattle police said the pilot first thought he might have to ditch the plane in Lake Washington but managed to make it to the park.

"It looks like he brought it down pretty safely, all things considered," Foster said. To land safely at a busy park on a sunny day with so many people around, "... he had to have skills," Foster said.

Witnesses said three people and a dog climbed out once the plane came to a stop.

When approached by a Seattle Times reporter, the pilot declined to comment.

The plane reportedly had taken off earlier in the day from Omak, heading for Seattle.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesman Mike Fergus said the Cessna had been cleared to land at Boeing Field when it lost power.

The plane is registered to Nicholson Manufacturing Co., of Seattle, which makes woodworking machinery. The company's answering service said it had no comment.

Fergus said he didn't know why the plane lost power but that the FAA will be talking with the pilot, who was not immediately identified.

Julia Paden, who lives nearby, was walking with her daughter, Eleanor, 9, along Lake Washington Boulevard when the plane flew over, just clearing the houses that line the street.

"It was barely clearing the trees," Paden said. "It was so low we wondered if it was going to hit something on the way down here in the mouth of the park. ...

"Luckily, there was enough space to stop before the volleyball game," Paden said.

The 58-acre park is a broad, rough meadow that stretches for about five blocks north from Genesee Street to Stan Sayres Memorial Park on Lake Washington Boulevard.

The Associated Press contributed

to this story.