POULSBO — The pilot of a small plane that crashed in a Poulsbo field Jan. 20 remains in critical condition.

The pilot, a 70-year-old Kent man, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle within hours after his 1946 Ercoupe 415-C — a small fixed-wing, single-engine airplane — crashed in a clearcut field off of Noll Road in Poulsbo.

He was placed into an ambulance and quickly sent to a waiting helicopter with serious injuries, according to Poulsbo Fire Chief Jeff Griffin.

The pilot was reported as in critical condition and in the intensive care unit at Harborview Medical Center on Jan. 21.

“Critical” condition is the most severe, followed by “serious.”

The pilot took off from Auburn Airport. Residents in the Poulsbo area reported seeing the plane making low circles shortly before the crash.

The pilot was initially unconscious after the crash, but once awake, he called 9-1-1 on his cell phone. Emergency services used his cell signal to help pinpoint his location.

Rescue crews noticed that the plane’s engine was cool to the touch by the time they arrived.