BREAKING NEWS: Light Plane Crashes in Canyon Country

"A private airplane registered to a Reseda man crashed shortly before noon Tuesday in the wash behind Don Cuco's restaurant in Canyon Country. Minor injuries were reported. Occupants included two people and a dog. See Wednesday's Signal for the full story and photographs..." -Signal Staff

I was driving down one of the major streets in Canyon Country and was approaching a red light when a small airplane swooped and wobbled low to the ground and disappeard behind some buildings. Based on the direction of the plane...I knew he was going to crash...but here I was...stuck at a red light!!! When the light turned green I proceeded to look towards the area the plane was last heading and could see dust rising from the wash to my right. I pulled into a small parking lot adjacent to the wash, pulled out my aid kit, jumped the fence and started walking towards the crash site. As I approached I could see a number of people already around the plane. It appeared that the plane made a crash landing in the wash, stopping only when it ran into a cement embankment lined with large rocks. I slid down the embankment and proceeded to make sure the occupants of the plane we uninjured. After ensuring everyone was ok (the only injury was a small abrasion on one occupants head) we stood around in the hot desert sun waiting for LASD and LACOFD to arrive. After giving a short report to the responding units, I headed back to my car, grabbed my camera and took these photos.



The pilot of the airplane reported that he started having engine trouble and had to crash land the plane in the wash. Thankfully the wash was wide and empty with no powerlines nearby. (However, there were powerlines along the street that the plane came very close to as it approached the wash for landing.) The pilot also stated that his brakes went out as he attempted to land.

(click on photo for a closer look)

Many bystanders congratulated the pilot on making such an awesome landing. Many of them had seen the entire scenario unfold and were astonished at the skill with which the pilot landed the aircraft in such adverse conditions. Thankfully there was also no fire involved in the crash. The other occupant of the aircraft and a dog were also involved in the crash, but there were no serious injuries to either.