A private jet ended up in Coos Bay after veering off the runway during a landing attempt in Oregon. The accident occurred on the morning of April 7 at Southwest Oregon Regional Airport, when the aircraft—a Honda HA-420 traveling from Utah—failed to stop in time and came to rest in the water. All five people on board sustained minor injuries.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the incident happened shortly after 6:10 a.m. as the plane was attempting to land on runway 05/23 at the regional airport in North Bend, in southern Oregon. The aircraft overran the east end of the runway and traveled approximately 100 feet before stopping in the bay.
The jet, a 2019 Honda HA-420 model, had departed about an hour earlier from St. George Regional Airport in Utah, according to data from flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Emergency services were alerted by a witness who saw the plane leave the runway, allowing rescue protocols to be activated quickly, said Stephanie Kilmer, spokesperson for the Coos County Airport District (CCAD), in a statement to ABC 9. Airport fire and rescue teams, along with units from Coos Bay and North Bend, responded to the scene within minutes.
The five occupants—four passengers and the pilot—were taken by ambulance to Bay Area Hospital. Three were released the same day. One remained hospitalized in Coos Bay, and another was transferred to a different medical facility for specialized care not available locally. All patients were reported to be conscious and alert upon arrival.
The rescue operation went smoothly, thanks to regular large-scale training drills conducted by airport personnel. “Everything worked like clockwork. I’m very proud of our teams,” Kilmer said.
The aircraft was removed from the water around 10:00 a.m. with the help of a crane and barge, previously contracted by the aircraft owner and airport. The equipment was already in the area for work on a railroad bridge, which helped speed up the removal process after authorization was granted by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
The removal cleared the main runway, and air traffic resumed. SkyWest Airlines, which operates United Express flights to San Francisco, initially canceled its scheduled departure that afternoon but later completed the flight with just a one-hour delay. General aviation traffic remained unaffected.
Both the FAA and NTSB have launched formal investigations to determine the cause of the crash. So far, no technical failures or adverse weather conditions have been reported as contributing factors, according to ABC News.
The aircraft remains stored near the crash site while technical evaluations are underway. No significant structural damage to the airport has been reported.
Multiple agencies responded to the accident, including airport rescue teams, fire departments from North Bend and Coos Bay, a hazardous materials response unit, the U.S. Coast Guard, Bay Cities Ambulance, Bay Area Hospital, the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, and North Bend Police, according to an official airport statement.
Authorities emphasized that the situation was under control from the outset and posed no additional risk to other flights or airport operations. “Air travel remains the safest mode of transportation,” Kilmer noted, highlighting the effectiveness of the emergency response.
