Small plane crashes in Calif. neighborhood

(AP) A single-engine plane crashed into a Southern California neighborhood Monday night, slicing through power lines but avoiding homes, authorities said.

The pilot of the Cessna 210 was able to free himself from the twisted wreckage and was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said. No one on the ground was hurt.

Lorenz told the Los Angeles Times the plane struck three power poles before slamming into the ground. Video footage on CBS News affiliate station KCAL-TV showed the aircraft upside down on the sidewalk near the front yard of a home on Glenwood Road.

(See the KCAL-TV report in the video below.)

About 2,100 customers in the area were without electricity late Monday because of the downed power lines, according to the Glendale Department of Water and Power.

The pilot reported a rough-running engine near El Monte Airport, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said.

The pilot, flying alone, told air traffic controllers he would try to make it to Van Nuys Airport, Gregor said. Controllers lost contact with the plane about 3 miles southeast of Van Nuys around 8 p.m.

According to the FAA Registry, the plane is owned by Allen K. Heng and James Roth.

Heng told KCAL-TV he turned on his computer and saw news of the crash on a website Monday night and thought "it couldn't be mine." He said that he and Roth use the plane for pleasure and work.

The FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash.