By Howard Yune

A pilot was hospitalized with minor injuries after a small private airplane crash-landed east of Napa Thursday evening, authorities reported.

At about 6:48 p.m., members of the Napa County Sheriff’s Office and the California Highway Patrol were called to the Coombsville area after reports of a plane going down in the 1000 block of First Avenue. First responders found a small plane that had made a hard landing in tall dry grass, on a hilly field some 200 yards off First Avenue’s west shoulder, according to sheriff’s Lt. Kyle Eddleman.

Two people who were on the opposite side of the road said they saw a plane cross First Avenue very low in the air, and did not hear any engine noise before the aircraft hit the ground. Eddleman also confirmed that witnesses reported not hearing the plane’s engine as it descended.

No damage to buildings or structures was reported.

The pilot, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to a hospital by American Medical Response ambulance, according to Eddleman.

Forty-five minutes after the crash, law enforcement officers could be seen observing the plane, which appeared to be upright with its tail facing away from First Avenue, past the end of a gravel driveway through the grass.

Local authorities have informed the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board of the incident, Eddleman said.

https://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/pilot-sustains-minor-injuries-after-small-plane-crash-lands-near-napa/article_bd86e0c2-fb73-11ed-925c-af9c4f4ea52b.html