Crop dusting plane crashes into truck in Sutter County

SUTTER COUNTY — A crop dusting airplane crashed into a truck in Sutter County Tuesday morning, officials said.

The crash happened north of Pleasant Grove near Pleasant Grove Road and Nicolaus Avenue, outside Moe's Croip Dusting Service. California Highway Patrol said the plane did not generate enough lift after taking off and clipped a fence before it hit a Ford F-150 driving by.

"Once we got there, we determined that the plane wasn't able to fully take off," said Sergeant JD McIntosh with the California Highway Patrol's Yuba-Sutter unit.

The driver of the truck was taken to the hospital as a precaution. The plane's pilot did not report any injuries.

Sgt. McIntosh said the woman was out walking with the first law enforcement official who responded to the scene.

"That would've been something to be the person in the pickup, to see a plane coming at your vehicle like that," said Randy Wilson, who works nearby the crash site.  

The aircraft had been sold to an out-of-state company which contracted a pilot to retrieve it. Sgt Mcintosh said that he's been on the job for more than 20 years and hasn't seen anything like it.

"After looking at the plane and the F-150, it's surprising that no one was seriously injured or killed," he said.

It was the smell of jet fuel that filled the air later in the day that served as a reminder of the early morning crash.

"The plane had 280 gallons of jet fuel in it and, obviously, due to the collision, the tanks were ruptured and there was some spill on the roadway," Sgt. Mcintosh said.  

The CHP said Nicolaus Avenue will be closed in the area while the FAA investigates the crash.