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A low-flying light plane attempting to land at a California airport marked by safety concerns ploughed into power lines before crashing Monday.
Terrifying footage has emerged of the plane careening into utility poles along Van Nuys Boulevard just blocks from the Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, leaving the 70-year-old male pilot hospitalized in critical condition.
In video posted Tuesday on X, the plane was seen flying close to the power lines when it clipped them, flipping over and nosediving into the ground.
LAFD said the plane, a single-engine Cessna owned by Vista Aviation and rented by the pilot, was doing patterns around the airport when it hit the power lines, eventually crashing into a parking lot at an O’Reilly’s auto shop. It had only been in the air for about 10 minutes. The pilot was found outside the plane.
A bystander who helped the pilot told KTLA that “half his body was crushed from the plane.”
“And that’s when they cut the belt and they picked up the plane, and that’s when we dragged him out, between me and three guys,” Luz De La Cruz, said.
The pilot was transported to the hospital.
A low-flying light plane attempting to land at a California airport in Pacoima.The crash knocked power out to some parts of the area, with the outlet reporting that crews were working to restore it on Tuesday.
Community activist, Roberto Barragan, from Icon CDC, told NBC 4 the crash showed why residents wanted the airport closed in the ”highly urbanized” location.
Roberto says a community advisory board created by the county voted to shut down Whiteman Airport.
”This accident is an example of why this not the place to have an airport,” he said.
Barragan said there’s been a series of number of near-catastrophic accidents near the airport, including an incident where a plane was pulled from train tracks at the last minute in 2022.
Pacoima residents call for airport closure following small plane crash. RMG”We just can’t continue to live like this until we have something worse and worse happening.”
The Federal Aviation Administration has released a statement confirming the plane crash would be investigated.
Meanwhile, an advocacy group for the airport, The Whiteman Airport Coalition, said: “Whiteman Airport operates under strict federal safety standards, with rigorous requirements for pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and flight operations.
”This accident is now under investigation by the appropriate local and federal authorities. It’s important that the facts are allowed to come forward before any conclusions are drawn.”
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