A man in his 20s who was piloting a single-engine plane was airlifted to a trauma center with serious injuries after a fiery crash in Ventura County, authorities said.
The crash east of the Santa Paula airport was reported shortly before 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.
There were no passengers on board the small plane when it crashed in an industrial area in the city of Santa Paula and started a fire, said Andy VanSciver, a firefighter and public information officer for the Fire Department.
There are several businesses in the area where the plane crashed, but the fire was contained to the plane and no other injuries were reported, VanSciver said.
A photo posted by the agency on X shows the nose of the plane and the propeller attached to a completely bare frame, apparently incinerated by the fire. A single wheel is seen near a pile of ash and debris.
Santa Paula Police Chief Don Aguilar told The Times on Sunday that the plane crashed in an open yard, causing it to hit stacked pipes that were there. The plane came to rest next to a large metal trash container, which is seen in the photo.
Firefighters who responded to extinguish the fire and care for the patient left the scene, VanSciver said.
A video released by the agency appears to show the pilot being carried on a stretcher to a waiting helicopter.
The identity and an update on the pilot's condition were not immediately available.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Santa Paula Police Department are on the scene investigating, and the National Transportation Safety Board has been notified.
Another small plane made an emergency landing in Ventura County on Saturday, CBS News reported. No injuries were reported in the incident, in which the aircraft landed in a dry riverbed in Fillmore, the outlet said, and the FAA is investigating that crash as well.
