A Richland engineer accused of stealing and crashing a plane has died

A Richland engineer accused of stealing and crashing a plane in Western Washington has died.

Richard Jordal, 59, was upgraded from critical to serious condition in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle on Aug. 25, seven days after crashing in the rain forest on the Olympic Peninsula.

But he died two days later, according to the Seattle hospital.

Jefferson County sheriff’s investigators believe Jordal stole a Cessna 150 from the Port Townsend, Wash., airport Aug. 18. He first had asked to rent a plane there but was turned away for lack of a pilot’s license or insurance.

He landed the plan briefly at the Bremerton airport, a GPS tracker showed, but took off headed west to crash the plane that night near La Push.

A Navy helicopter crew spotted the wreckage the next morning.

Jordal was out of jail on bail at the time after being accused of threatening to hurt or kill an employee of the Pasco Lowe’s store July 3. Police found a gun in his backpack.

Jordal also had pending cases in Yakima County for alleged felony harassment.

He grew up in Denmark and the Seattle area and earned a mechanical engineering degree from Gonzaga University in Spokane, according to his obituary in the Herald.

He worked for a time at the nuclear plant in Richland and elsewhere in the Northwest.

Jordal was well liked but suffered from a mental illness later in his life, said his obituary, which encouraged donations in his memory to any mental health organization.

This story was originally published September 4, 2020 at 5:00 AM.