1 killed, 1 hurt in Kearny Mesa plane crash
A passenger was killed and the pilot was injured Wednesday evening when a small plane crashed into a delivery parking lot between a Costco and Target in Kearny Mesa while landing at Montgomery Field.
The two women were the only ones on the plane, San Diego police Lt. Steve Behrendt said.
The passenger was a 78-year-old woman who was married and lived in San Diego, the county Medical Examiner's Office said early Thursday. She died in a hospital emergency room. Her name was not yet released.
Clarification
This story has been revised to reflect the pilot was trying to take off after an aborted landing.
The pilot, believed to be in her early 50s, was hospitalized with major injuries, said Lee Swanson, spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.
Several people who were in the area pulled the women from the plane after the fiery crash. At least one of them was transported to a hospital for burn injuries, Behrendt said. San Diego firefighters extinguished the small blaze.
The plane went down about 5:30 p.m.
Vince Carter, a pilot, was practicing helicopter takeoffs and landings at the airport when he heard the pilot on tower traffic control radio. She said the plane lost power and was going down, he said. The plane crashed about 15 seconds later, after clearing state Route 163. Black smoke could be seen from across the freeway.
“It happened extremely fast,” Carter said.
The front passenger area of the fixed-wing, single engine Mooney M20L was charred, and the right wing was destroyed. One wheel was ripped off and lying about 20 feet from the plane.
Carter and Behrendt said it was fortunate that in a busy retail area, no one on the ground was hurt.
“From a pilot’s perspective, this is a miracle, an absolute miracle,” Carter said. “It’s an amazing testament to her skill.”
The plane clipped the roof of the Target, on Othello Avenue, leaving some debris there and in the store’s outside garden area, Behrendt said. No one in the store was injured. The aircraft also struck a light pole in the parking lot.
About 9:30 p.m., fire officials were called back to the site by police, who said the plane was leaking about a gallon of fuel.
The plane’s registry lists the owner as William F. Logan of San Diego.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said.
