Plane crashes in San Fernando Valley; no major injuries reported, authorities say

A small plane crashed at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima on Tuesday morning, stirring debate about safety at the airport.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said the incident was reported at about 9:11 a.m. and involved a small Cessna plane. Aerial images showed the plane with heavy damage, with its engine several feet away from the plane's frame in a parking lot adjacent to a Whiteman Airport runway.

In a statement, the Whiteman Airport Coalition said the plane's landing gear failed to deploy properly as the pilot attempted to land on the runway.

The pilot, a 77-year-old man, was the only person on board, the LAFD said. He was safely extricated and suffered only minor injuries, according to the WAC.

Flight instructor Allen Khan and his student Navid Khosru said they witnessed the crash and helped rescue the trapped pilot.

"I see the plane, go through the fence," Khosru said, adding that the aircraft slid on its belly, broke through the fence, and ended up in the parking lot.

Khan said he heard the loud boom and crash, then saw smoke coming from the parking lot. The two rushed over, as a few others joined to help pry open the plane's canopy.

"Fuel (was) all over, and we have no choice to get to him and pull him out of the aircraft before getting into fire," Khan said.

About 5 gallons of fuel leaked from the plane, but the scene was safely contained, authorities said.

In April, another small plane went down nearby after hitting power lines and crashing into a business parking lot after taking off from the airport.

At the time of that crash, Los Angeles Councilmember Monica Rodriguez said the county-owned airport is poorly managed. "Since 2020, I have called for the closure of Whiteman Airport due to repeated plane crashes," Rodriguez said.

Additionally, Supervisor Lyndsey Horvath expressed safety concerns at Whiteman Airport.

"I call on all operations to cease immediately while a thorough investigation is conducted. This federal government must decide what it is willing to do to keep our communities near Whiteman Airport safe," Horvath said.

The Whiteman Airport Coalition said in response that immediate closure would impact jobs, local businesses, aviation services and emergency response capabilities throughout the northeast San Fernando Valley. They say federal grants for improvements and modernization have been blocked. 

"Now, after years of opposing modernization and blocking the use of federal grants, Horvath is attempting to shift responsibility to the FAA and NTSB. The reality is that federal grants exist precisely to improve airport safety, infrastructure, and operations. Those resources should be welcomed, not blocked," Whiteman Airport Coalition wrote in a news release. 

Khan says the problem is not the airport, just some pilots. "They need to be more cautious, better training, better training at what they are doing."