A low-flying light plane attempting to land at a California airport in Pacoima. (Photo by RapidReport2025/X)
A small single-engine plane crashed into power lines and flipped into a parking lot near a California airport already under fire from local residents on Monday, leaving the pilot hospitalized in critical condition and renewing a fierce debate over whether the facility should be shut down.
The Cessna, owned by Vista Aviation and rented by the 70-year-old male pilot, had been in the air for only about 10 minutes when it went down. The Los Angeles Fire Department said the aircraft was performing routine pattern work around Whiteman Airport in Pacoima when it clipped utility poles along Van Nuys Boulevard, just blocks from the runway.
Video posted to X on Tuesday captured the moment the plane struck the power lines, flipped over and nosedived into the ground, landing in the parking lot of a nearby O’Reilly Auto Parts store. The pilot was found outside the wreckage. A bystander who rushed to help described the scene as harrowing.
“Half his body was crushed from the plane,” said Luz De La Cruz. “And that’s when they cut the belt and they picked up the plane, and that’s when we dragged him out, between me and three guys.” The pilot was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The crash also knocked out power to parts of the surrounding area, with crews working to restore it by Tuesday.
For community activists who have long campaigned against Whiteman Airport, the crash was the latest in a string of dangerous incidents that they say prove the facility has no place in a densely populated neighborhood.
Roberto Barragan of Icon CDC told NBC 4 that a community advisory board created by the county had already voted to close the airport, and that Monday’s crash reinforced why. “This accident is an example of why this not the place to have an airport,” he said, pointing to the surrounding residential and commercial density.
He also referenced a 2022 incident in which a plane was pulled from train tracks at the last possible moment.
“We just can’t continue to live like this until we have something worse and worse happening,” Barragan added.
The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the crash is under investigation. The Whiteman Airport Coalition, an advocacy group supporting the airport’s continued operation, urged restraint before drawing conclusions.
“Whiteman Airport operates under strict federal safety standards, with rigorous requirements for pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and flight operations,” the group said in a statement. “This accident is now under investigation by the appropriate local and federal authorities. It’s important that the facts are allowed to come forward before any conclusions are drawn.” The debate over the airport’s future is unlikely to cool anytime soon.
