Pilot Dies After Plane Crashes In Rio Linda Backyard
RIO LINDA (CBS13) — A small plane's crash landing into a Rio Linda home has left its pilot dead and investigators searching for clues into what went wrong.
That plane crashed just after 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon at a home on U and 28th streets in Rio Linda.
As night fell, flashing lights from Sacramento County Sheriff's Department squad cars were the only sign of the terrifying crash.
"It's crazy," neighbor San Saene said.
Saene heard the crash but initially didn't know what it was.
"I just heard a big bang, and my lights went off," Saene said.
The plane ended up inside the fenceline of a heavily wooded backyard, just missing the home.
"Witnesses state that they saw the plane at a low elevation, flying in a south bound direction, clipped the power poles," Sacramento Sheriff Sgt. Tony Turnbull said. "Also some trees on the property, and then went down into the property."
The plane that crashed was a Lancair IV. It's a four-seater that can cost half-a-million dollars and is considered highly sophisticated.
"It's made mostly for speed," Sacramento Executive Flyers CEO Steven Thompson said.
"It's extremely fast and very easy to get out of control unless you've had the hours. You have to do a lot of monitoring of temperatures in this type of aircraft."
Now federal investigators will try to determine what went wrong--that led this small plane to crash land into a Rio Linda back yard, killing its pilot.
The FAA would not say where the plane was coming from or where it was going, although the McClellan Air Field is nearby.