An engine malfunction caused a small plane crash shortly after takeoff from the Smith Ranch Airport in San Rafael on Thursday afternoon. The pilot escaped uninjured.

•  The engine of a small, home-built plane died almost immediately after takeoff from a San Rafael airport and the pilot had to crash-land the aircraft.

•   In order to avoid striking power lines, the pilot had to go beneath the live wires. The plane crashed into a marsh.

•   Emergency crews found the plane only moderately damaged and the pilot apparently unhurt.

The home-built Pietenpol GN-1 Air Camper went down at around 4:15 p.m., according to a report in the Marin Independent Journal.

The pilot, 65-year-old Mike Giddens of Novato, said he knew he was going to crash when the plane’s engine died right after takeoff. His big concern was how to avoid the power lines ahead of him, according to the Independent Journal report.

“I was too busy trying to land to be scared,” Giddens told the local newspaper.

Giddens didn’t have enough power to ascend above the power lines, so he dipped under them and crash-landed in a marsh near the McInnis Park Golf Center.

Witness Jeff Pollack, a former rescue swimmer and emergency medical technician who lives across from the airport, told the Independent-Journal that Giddens’ plane took off but barely gained altitude before it plunged into the marsh. After he saw the plane crash, Pollack and his wife hopped into their powerboat and went to search for the pilot in Las Gallinas Creek.

“I thought I was going to be doing a water extrication, to tell you the truth,” Pollack said. “We went into professional rescue mode.”

It turned out that Pollack’s services weren’t necessary. San Rafael firefighters, Marinwood firefighters, Marin County sheriff’s deputies and park rangers, and a California Highway Patrol helicopter crew also responded to the scene.

Rescue crews found the plane mostly intact — with just moderate damage — and the pilot apparently uninjured, according to a KTVU News report. Paramedics assessed the pilot’s condition and later said he was not hurt. He was the only person aboard the plane.

“I was trying to save the plane until the last minute,” Giddens later said. “That’s what we all do. We like our toys.”

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) initially planned to investigate the crash, but Marin County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Barry Heying later said there would be no investigation, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Small Plane Crash Statistics

There were 1,435 small plane crashes nationwide in 2010, according to the latest National Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) statistics. Almost 20 percent of those aviation accidents — 267 — were fatal, causing 450 deaths.

The number of crashes had decreased considerably since 2000, when there 1,837 crashes resulted in 596 fatalities. The accident and death rate has continually decreased every year.

California Plane Crash Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented plane crash victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.