2 injured in plane crash near in Olympic National Park

OLYMPIA - Two people were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center after a plane crash Sunday in the snow-covered wilderness near Mount Jupiter in the Olympic National Park.

The exact details about their injuries are not available at this time, but they were described as minor and not believed to be life-threatening.

Authorities were alerted a little before 4 p.m. of the crash after the plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter activated.

The signal was detected by satellites and the distress message was forwarded to the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tydall Air Force Base in Florida, who alerted the Washington State Department of Transportation.

The pilot and passenger aboard the Cirrus SR22 aircraft were also able to alert overflying commercial aircraft on the emergency frequency.

Search and Rescue personnel from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Search and Rescue were able to locate the wreckage with the help of a search aircraft from Washington Air Search and Rescue, who tracked the distress beacon's signal.

The Navy crew then lowered rescuers to the ground to locate, access and hoist the downed flyers up and onto the rescue helicopter and transport them to the hospital.

The names of two people aboard the plane are not available.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the why the plane went down.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.