Small plane crashes into front yard of LA area home

A single-engine plane crashes into the back yard of a Los Angeles area home and the pilot is taken to hospital.

A small single-engine plane crashed into the back yard of a home in the city of Compton, south of Los Angeles, on Wednesday afternoon (October 7), the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

The male pilot was alone in the plane and was taken to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries, a fire department spokesman said.

“There was one solo pilot critically injured and he was transported to the local hospital. There was actually minimal damage to the residence. There was a shed in the back that had sustained damage as well as the perimeter fencing. That was the only damage, also the airplane was damaged,” said Compton Fire Department Battalion Chief Ken Benson.

Commercial pilot Esteban Jimenez said he heard about the crash when he arrived at the local airport.

“People showed up saying, hey, your plane is down the street, so I got in the car and we came over here looking and we were one of the first ones here. They had just taken the kid out, bloody face, good thing he was alive, and they took him to the hospital,” he said.

The plane and the rear fence of the home were damaged. Benson said the home was occupied at the time, but the person inside the house was not injured.

“Very fortunate. No one happened to be outside. The resident was inside, but again, it didn’t touch the structure at all,” he said.

The National Transportation Safety Board and The Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the crash. (Reuters)