A 77-year-old pilot walked away after his small plane veered off the runway and crashed into a parking lot at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima. The Whiteman Airport Coalition said landing gear failed to deploy. Fuel leaked but was contained. No one outside the airport was injured.
A survived a small airplane crash at in on Tuesday morning. The aircraft veered off the runway and crashed into a parking lot. Emergency crews responded to the scene near at approximately , according to the .
The pilot was injured in the crash. He was initially reported to have declined transport to a hospital. Fire officials later updated that he went for further medical evaluation.
Witnesses initially believed the crash occurred during takeoff. Updated information from the Whiteman Airport Coalition (WAC) suggests the plane was landing when the incident happened.
"Based on initial reports, the pilot safely landed on the runway, but the landing gear did not deploy properly," WAC officials said in a news release. "Thankfully, no one else was injured. Most importantly, the incident remained entirely on airport grounds and posed no danger to surrounding neighborhoods or nearby residents."
Fire officials first identified the downed plane as a Cessna. KTLA reporter Rich Prickett, reporting from Sky5 at 9:45 a.m., said the aircraft may have been an experimental plane instead.
The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed that some fuel leaked from the aircraft after the crash. Officials said the leak was fully contained. There was no active fire at the scene.
The pilot has not been identified by name. The Whiteman Airport Coalition said authorities will investigate the incident to determine exactly what occurred.
"As always, the appropriate authorities will investigate the incident and determine exactly what occurred," the news release stated.
Whiteman Airport is a general aviation facility located in the San Fernando Valley. It serves small aircraft and flight training operations. The airport sits adjacent to residential neighborhoods in Pacoima and Sun Valley.
The Whiteman Airport Coalition emphasized that the crash remained on airport property. No residents or vehicles outside the airport were affected. The fuel leak was contained without spreading beyond the crash site.
Residents near Whiteman Airport have long debated the facility's future. The airport has faced noise complaints and safety concerns from nearby communities. This incident may renew calls for closer scrutiny of operations at the field.
The Federal Aviation Administration oversees safety standards at general aviation airports. The NTSB investigates civil aviation accidents. It is not yet clear whether either agency will open a formal investigation into this incident.
More details on the aircraft type and the pilot's identity were not immediately available. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
This article was generated with AI assistance.