By Jonathan Ayestas
DAVIS, Calif. —
A pilot is mostly unscathed after his plane caught fire mid-air and crashed in Yolo County on Thursday, officials said.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot’s single-engine Cessna, a fairly common type of small plane, crashed around 11:30 a.m. after taking off from University Airport, located west of Highway 113 and UC Davis.
The university in a release said the pilot reported smoke and flames in the cockpit. The pilot, the only occupant on board, crashed in a field near Vineyard Lane, south of Putah Creek.
Photos tweeted by UC Davis Fire Chief Nathan Trauernicht show the charred leftovers of what was the cockpit. The wings, tail and front portion of the plane remained.
“Fortunately, the pilot walked away with minor injuries,” the fire chief said in his tweet.
Firefighters offered first aid to the pilot and put out a small vegetation fire that sparked as a result of the burning plane, UC Davis said. The pilot declined being sent to the hospital.
https://www.kcra.com/article/pilot-hard-landing-yolo-county-plane-catches-fire/40315354
