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Pilot survives fiery plane crash in Northern California farmland

CBS News Live
CBS News Sacramento Live

WILLOWS — The pilot of an agricultural plane survived a violent and fiery crash in Northern California farmland, officials said Sunday.

The crash happened during the afternoon in Willows at County Roads 65 and D. The Willows Fire Department said one of its crews arrived to find the plane fully engulfed in fire with the flames spreading toward a large diesel tank and other farm machinery.

Photos released by the fire department show the plane was destroyed with only a small portion of its wings left untouched by fire. Firefighters focused on cooling the diesel tank off before extinguishing the rest of the fire, the fire department said.

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Willows Fire Department

Co-workers took the pilot to a hospital after the pilot received some treatment at the scene from medics.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Willows is the county seat of Glenn County and is about 85 miles northwest of Sacramento. Glenn County is located along the west side of Butte County and the north side of Colusa County.

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