A Stanwood man was taken to WhidbeyHealth Medical Center Sunday afternoon with a non-life-threatening head injury after his single-engine, single propeller RV7 plane crashed at Whidbey Air Park.

According to the Island County Sheriff’s Office, 76-year-old Manuel Gonzales said his approach was too high and that he ran out of room on the runway. Gonzales, a 35-year veteran of the skies, overshot the landing by roughly 80 feet before his plane landed upside down on a grass knoll.

Gonzales was transported to the hospital after the arrival of emergency responders.

The last moments of the crash, as well as the quick response of two nearby witnesses, were captured by real estate owner Paul Tschetter’s property camera.

Kelly and Roschele Neu of Bayview were just sitting down for some lunch outside of Kelly’s workshop when they saw Gonzales’ plane blow through a fence at the end of the runway and crash.

“We just clicked into gear,” Roschele Neu said.

Roschele, a former emergency medical technician, immediately called 911 while Kelly, a river guide, headed for the cockpit to check on the status of the pilot. Kelly said she thought the crash was survivable but was nervous nonetheless when she approached the plane. She knelt to the ground and was relieved to see Gonzales was conscious and talking despite a laceration to his head.

“Luckily my wife was there with me. She immediately got up and told me she was going call 911,” Kelly Neu said. “I got a little bit concerned because he had a little bit of a head wound, so there was a bit of blood.”

Kelly informed Gonzales that emergency responders were on their way, after which she and Roschele assisted in removing him from the cockpit by smashing the plexiglass cover with a hammer. A sense of urgency pushed them to move fast after they smelled fuel nearby. Gonzales then self-extricated himself from the plane.

“It was great to see him totally fine and put in the ambulance and in fairly good spirits,” Kelly Neu said. “He was very much able to take part in his rescue.”

Kelly said the adrenaline from the crash and subsequent rescue lasted throughout the day. Though she’s participated in river rescues in the past, it was not surprisingly her first response to a plane crash.

“I remember when we were holding the guy’s spine, my heart was racing,” Kelly Neu said. “His heart was bursting out of his chest.”

Upon examining the wreckage, Kelly Neu said Gonzales was fortunate to have escaped the crash with the injury that he had.

“It’s amazing with that cockpit being so smashed,” Kelly Neu said.

Jason Laughren, deputy chief of South Whidbey Fire/EMS, said responders addressed the fuel spill by absorbing it with Drysorb. He too, thought Gonzales should count his lucky stars.

“He was lucky to walk away, in my opinion,” Laughren said.