Pilot critically hurt after small plane crashes in Wash.

SPOKANE, Wash. — A pilot was in critical condition after his small plane crashed shortly after takeoff Sunday afternoon, authorites said.

The crash occurred near Erie Street, between Sprague and Trent avenues, with the wreckage landing near the Highway 290 overpass above railroad tracks at around 2 p.m.

Curtis Neal rushed in and helped pull the pilot from the plane. He told KREM-TV that the pilot was in "bad shape."

The plane, a Piper PA-46-350P, is registered in Alberta, Canada. The pilot, who has not been publicly identified, had just cleared Customs at Felts Field and was headed to Stockton, Calif., authorities said.

Spokane police and fire crews were securing the scene until investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board could arrive.

BNSF Railway tracks were shut down until further notice.

Felts Field, a general aviation facility five miles northeast of downtown Spokane, operates two hard-surface runways and a water runway on the Spokane River, according to its website.