One person died and four others were critically injured Monday when a home-built light plane heading to the Fullerton airport crashed on Admiral Baker Golf Course in San Diego County.
The single-engine Velocity Super XLRG5 crashed at a little before 1 p.m. on the 11th hole of the Admiral Baker Golf Course just south of Tierresanta and east of the airport.
A golfer nearly hit by the plane was one of the first on the scene.
"I was on the tee box ... and it came straight at me and just off to the right side, maybe about 10 feet above my head," said Robert Bartolomucci of Santee.
A woman riding in the front passenger seat was killed in the crash, and the three injured children riding in the back were left dangling in their seats after the plane flipped over. Two of the children were having trouble breathing, Bartolomucci said, so he and others cut the restraints.
One of San Diego Fire Rescue's helicopters was at the nearby airport at the time and flew over to the golf course, where it picked up the two most-seriously injured young victims and flew them to Rady's Children's Hospital. The other child was taken to the same medical center by ambulance, and the man piloting the aircraft was taken to Sharp Hospital. All of the victims were in critical condition, said Maurice Luque of San Diego Fire Rescue. The children are all between the ages of 7 and 10 years old.
The pilot faced considerable obstacles trying to land the plane in the area, including water hazards and rugged, hilly terrain.
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"Looked like he missed that electric pole there, and the wing hit the ground on the left side and just flipped him over," Bartolomucci said. "That was it."
The single-engine aircraft was home-built, according to Federal Aviation Administration officials. The plane took off from Montgomery Field at 12:45 p.m. and was headed to Fullerton, Calif. Authorities said the pilot radioed the control tower shortly after takeoff that the aircraft had an open door and that the pilot was going to attempt to return to the airport for an emergency landing. FAA officials said the tower then lost radio contact with the aircraft.
The door was subsequently discovered in the 3400 block of Santo Road in Tierrasanta.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash, authorities said. It can take months for officials in such cases to identify the cause of such a crash.
