Idaho Falls pilot hospitalized after plane crash in Island Park
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ISLAND PARK — A pilot was taken by air ambulance to a local hospital after the plane he was in crashed.
The incident happened Monday off Old Shotgun Road at a private airstrip, which is near the Island Park Reservoir.
Fremont County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Bart Quayle told EastIdahoNews.com they responded to the scene at around 9:45 a.m. The Island Park Fire Department and Fremont County EMS were already there providing patient care.
Quayle said the pilot had been identified as Scott Boling, 50, of Idaho Falls. A 911 call came in from a family member.
“She basically said that as he was gaining altitude as he took off to the north, the plane suddenly turned right really hard and toward the east and seemed to lose control and ended up nosediving into the ground,” Quayle said.
Boling was the only person in the plane, and he had to be extricated by emergency responders.
Quayle said he did not know what his condition was at the time but he was airlifted to Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.
EIRMC spokeswoman Coleen Niemann said Boling is currently in fair condition at the hospital.
The Federal Aviation Administration said in an online report that the plane involved was a Piper PA-18. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The agency said the aircraft crashed under “unknown circumstances.”
The FAA has taken over the investigation of the crash.