One Killed In Small Plane Crash Near Hayden School

HAYDEN —  The Idaho State Police have confirmed that a small plane has crashed near
Atlas Elementary School
in Hayden.

The plane, a small single-engine aircraft, came in front the west and eyewitnesses say that the engine sputtered and then appeared to come in without engine power.

They believe the plane’s pilot may have been trying to land on the playground at Atlas Elementary School, located at 3000 W. Honeysuckle Avenue in Hayden, approximately six miles south of Pappy Boyington Field.

The plane hit the ground, skipped, flipped over and then crashed into the elementary school, causing only minor damage. When emergency crews arrived they found the aircraft had crashed and had come to a rest upside down next to the southwest corner of the building.

Kenneth L. Lien, 65, of Spokane was the pilot of the plane and was killed in the crash. Investigators say Lien kept the aircraft at Pappy Boyington Field.

The Kootenai County School District says there were no students at the school at the time of the crash and those staff members who were at the school were safely evacuated.

The FAA and the Kootenai County Sheriff’s Department is investigating to determine the cause of the crash.