He flipped his plane on takeoff from small Eliza Island airstrip

A 65-year-old man suffered minor injuries when he crashed his vintage private plane on takeoff Friday from a small airstrip on Eliza Island, officials said.

An official with the National Transportation Safety Board said the single-engine Stinson 108-3 landed upside-down at the end of the 1,500-foot runway about 1 p.m. Friday.

Two dogs aboard the aircraft escaped injury, said NTSB spokesman Peter Knudson.

Cause of the crash remained under investigation, Knudson said.

Bellingham firefighters took the fireboat Salish Star to the island and evaluated the pilot's injuries, said Assistant Chief Bill Hewett of the Bellingham Fire Department. Firefighters didn't take him to the hospital, Hewett said.

He wasn't identified, but the plane is registered to Gary T. McFadden of Kent, according to FAA records.

According to Wikipedia, the four-seat Stinson 108 was a popular general-aviation aircraft during the immediate post-World War II era.

Eliza Island is a small island off the southern tip of Lummi Island.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 1:24 PM with the headline "He flipped his plane on takeoff from small Eliza Island airstrip."