• 03
  • August
    2010

One woman was killed, while a man and three children were seriously injured in a San Diego plane crash yesterday afternoon. The small, home-built aircraft crashed right next to the 11th hole of the Admiral Baker Golf Course, as those on the ground looked on in horror.

Before emergency responders arrived at the crash site, a maintenance worker employed by the golf course and several golfers were able to cut two passengers out of the backseat. The front of the plane was so smashed that they could not reach the remaining three occupants.

Of those that did not perish in the plane crash, it was reported that all face critical, potentially fatal, injuries. Names of the victims have not yet been released.

The plane was a Velocity XL-RG5. A popular plane among amateur pilots, it can be built from a kit. Once assembled, the cabin can accommodate four-to-five passengers, including the pilot. Light weight and fast, the plane flipped several times on impact, coming to a rest upside down. To look at the crash site, it's incredible that anyone could have survived the wreckage at all.

It is the second plane crash in San Diego County in as many weeks. Last Tuesday, a retired airline pilot crashed in Oceanside, just missing a school.

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating both crashes. The FAA has reported that the pilot in yesterday's plane crash radioed the control tower shortly after takeoff to report an open door. The last thing the controller heard was the pilot saying he was going to attempt to return to the airport.

After that traffic control lost contact.

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