Plane from controversial SoCal airport crashes upside down in parking lot; pilot hospitalized

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

A pilot was hospitalized Monday after crashing his small single-engine plane in the parking lot of an auto-parts store in Pacoima, according to authorities.The crash was reported shortly before 11 a.m.near the intersection of San Fernando Road and Van Nuys Boulevard, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

Police and fire crews at the scene shut down Van Nuys from Ralston Avenue to San Fernando Road because of power lines that were knocked down by the plane.Photos of the crash show a plane upside down with debris scattered in the parking lot of an O’Reilly Auto Parts.

There have been no other reports of injuries.The adult male pilot was pulled from the plane and taken to a hospital, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

His condition was unknown.The FAA said it was investigating the crash and identified the fixed-wing plane as a Cessna 172 S Skyhawk SP.Federal records show the plane is registered to Vista Aviation Inc.at Whiteman Airport.

A spokesperson for the business, which provides aviation services, could not immediately be reached for comment.According to the flight tracking website Flight Radar 24, the plane took off from the small Pacoima airport shortly before 11 a.m.Data show the plane was in the air for less than 10 minutes when it turned around and headed back to the airport before crashing.The Whiteman Airport Coalition, an advocacy group for the airport, said in a statement that the plane was being rented out to the pilot.“Events like this are taken very seriously,” they wrote.

“Whiteman Airport operates under strict federal safety standards, with rigorous requirements for pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and flight operations.”Community activists and residents living in the area have long called for the closure of the airport because of safety and health concerns.After a crash in January 2022, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors ...