A Washington couple have been released from Kalispell Regional Medical Center after surviving a small-plane crash Sunday near a West Glacier airstrip.

The crash occurred at about 10 a.m. while Doug and Kathleen Sapp of Omak, Wash., were participating in a weekend fly-in for the Recreational Aviation Foundation at the Ryan Field airstrip just east of West Glacier.

Doug Sapp, the pilot, was taking off in his Fly Fisher airplane, a modified Piper, when the engine sputtered and then quit.

“I saw it until it went behind the trees,” said Carmine Mowbray, a pilot and state senator from Polson. “I heard the engine quit and I heard the impact.”

Mowbray said it was a tricky situation for a pilot because the plane was at such a low altitude, giving the pilot not much time or room to maneuver. The plane crashed into trees near the airstrip, which was fortunate, Mowbray said.

“It made recovery of the injured quite easy,” she said.

The impact sheared off the plane’s right wing and the fuselage came to a rest in a brushy area on its right side.

“I think the pilot used his skills to minimize the severity of the impact,” Mowbray said.

The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and county Search and Rescue personnel responded and the Sapps, who suffered minor injuries, were transported to the Kalispell hospital by a Three Rivers ambulance out of Columbia Falls.

Flathead County Undersheriff Jordan White said Doug Sapp was released from the hospital Sunday night and Kathleen Sapp was released Monday morning.

Mowbray said that about 80 to 90 people and about 35 aircraft showed up for the fly-in. The Recreational Aviation Foundation is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving recreational flying.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation and Safety Board are investigating the crash, according to The Associated Press.

Reporter Jim Mann may be reached at 758-4407 or by email at jmann@dailyinterlake.com.