Fiery plane crash in Ventura County leaves pilot with critical injuries

A man in his mid-20s who was piloting a single-engine airplane was airlifted to a trauma center with critical injuries after a fiery crash in Ventura County, authorities said.

The crash east of Santa Paula Airport was reported shortly before 12:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Ventura County Fire Department.

No passengers were aboard the small plane when it went down in an industrial area in the city of Santa Paula and sparked a blaze, said Andy VanSciver, a firefighter and public information officer for the Fire Department.

Several businesses are 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 propeller attached to a completely bare frame, apparently incinerated by the blaze. A single wheel is visible 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 area, disturbing stacked pipes that were laid out. It came to rest next to a large metal trash bin, which is visible in the photo.

Firefighters who responded to extinguish the fire and care for the patient have left the scene, VanSciver said.

A video posted by the agency appears to show the pilot being taken to a waiting helicopter on a gurney.

The identity and an update on the condition of the pilot were not immediately available.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Santa Paula Police Department are at the scene investigating, and the National Transportation Safety Board was 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 also investigating that crash.