LOMITA, Calif. – A small plane crashed (search) into a home as it headed for a landing, seriously injuring the pilot, authorities said.
At least one person was inside the home during the plane crash Thursday evening, but no one on the ground was injured, said Jerry Vandenberg of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
No one else was aboard the single-engine plane, which flipped after punching a hole in the home's roof, sparking a small fire in the attic that was quickly extinguished, Vandenberg said. Firefighters and neighbors pulled out pilot, whose condition was not known.
Residents told KCAL-TV there was a fire in the plane. "Got the hose on first, to put the fire out," rescuer Steve Butorovich said. "His legs were on fire, his hands were on fire."
The pilot had been cleared to land at Torrance Municipal Airport and told controllers he was running low on fuel, said Federal Aviation Administration (search) spokesman Donn Walker.
It was the fourth plane to crash into a Southern California home or apartment in the past 18 months.
"This is some of the most congested airspace in the country," Walker said. "When you have a lot of planes in the sky, there are going to be crashes. And over a very congested area like Los Angeles, it's going to crash in a populated area."
Lomita is about 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
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