Pilot Injured After Small Plane Crash Lands Atop Roof Of Pomona Building
POMONA (CBSLA.com) — Firefighters say a plane with one person on board crash landed atop a building in Pomona.
The Los Angeles County Fire Department says a call came out at 4:40 p.m. Sunday of a plane that landed on the roof of a building at 901 Corporate Center Drive in Pomona.
The impact of the crash created a hole in the roof of the building as a result of the aircraft's wheels.
The department said the 61-year-old man, identified as the pilot, was airlifted to the hospital.
The pilot's wife said via phone that he's doing OK after sustaining a broken ankle and a gash on his forehead.
She said her husband, who has been flying for 45 years, was en route to Pomona from Fullerton when this happened.
Witnesses described seeing the plane go down.
"I realized there is no runway around here, so I immediately said, 'This guy is gonna crash,' " said Nicholas Vela, a witness.
"I called 911 right away," said Kelly Vela, another witness. "I was just worried for the pilot. When we got here, there were three other gentlemen. One had shimmied up a tree and got on the roof and called down to us and let us know that he was at least talking. That's when we were kind of relieved that this wasn't gonna be a fatal."
The cause of the crash was under investigation, though officials report that the pilot said the plane lost power.
"Prayers go out to the pilot, if he would have fallen five feet earlier, it probably would have collided with side of that building, and problaly would have been a different story," Vela added.
The building is a state probation office, and despite having some repairs to do, it shouldn't delay business on Monday.
Federal agencies are at the scene and have taken over the crash investigation.
