By HELEN SANDERS
The Islands’ Weekly

The pilot and four passengers survived the emergency landing of their single-engine prop plane April 15 on Lopez Island.

After being treated for minor scrapes and bruises by the Lopez Island Fire Department, the passengers retired to the Lopez Islander.

The single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza 836, built in 1996, is owned by pilot/operator John Rutter, 50, of Woodinville. Rutter and his friend Cynthia Elliot, 43, also of Woodinville, along with her two young sons, took off from an airport in Everett on the evening of April 15.

The aircraft had recently been in for its annual inspection and tune up, and Rutter received the plane from the mechanic early that week. Rutter was told by the mechanic to keep the throttle at about 75 percent of normal, which Rutter did throughout the flight.

According to Sheriff Bill Cumming, the aircraft flew over Whidbey Island airspace at 5,000 feet and began to descend over water as the craft headed toward the San Juan Islands. Shortly after Rutter began descending, the aircraft’s engine shut off and the cockpit filled with smoke.

Rutter, starting to come over Lopez Island at this time, put the plane into a controlled glide. His intention was to make the airport’s landing strip, but he didn’t have enough airspeed or height to do this. Rutter knew he would be short of the runway. He turned away from the airport and saw Fisherman Bay Road below him. He began his approach with an airspeed of between 90-100 knots.

As he descended, a vehicle came around the corner on Fisherman Bay Road and Rutter pulled the nose of the craft up to avoid the traffic, and went back down again. As the landing gear hit the pavement, the aircraft’s left wing caught on fencing that was hidden by overgrowth. The plane was spun around but after it came to a halt, all occupants exited the plane with minor injuries.

“The aircraft’s fortunate landing was due in great part to the pilot’s composure and skill,” Sheriff Cumming said.