A tiny aircraft went down on a soccer field in Long Beach Thursday afternoon, hitting a 40‑year‑old woman who was playing a practice. The plane, which had been cruising from Compton to French Valley before returning to its home base, stalled and made an emergency landing on Heartwell Park’s field.
Firefighters were first on the scene. They pulled the elderly pilot out of the wreck and rushed both the pilot and the woman to the hospital. Both were reported to be in stable condition with only moderate injuries.
The crash occurred just 1½ miles northeast of Long Beach Airport, where the plane was supposed to land. Authorities say the aircraft’s belly landed on the grass, leaving a cracked left wing in the center of the field. Aerial video shows scattered debris and the charred propeller visible on the ground.
Soccer practice moved on in the aftermath, but officials from the city council noted how lucky everyone was that no one died or suffered serious harm. Mayor Rex Richardson called the incident “a glider that did an emergency landing, pretty rough, but no fatalities.”
The Federal Aviation Administration has not yet replied to requests for comment, and investigators are still working through the details of what caused the emergency landing. The incident has prompted questions about the safety of small aircraft operations in populated areas along the California coast.
Source: New York Post
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