2 H.B. police officers out of hospital after being injured in fiery small-plane crash in El Cajon

Two Huntington Beach police officers were among three people injured Sunday when a single-engine plane crashed into a parking lot near Gillespie Field in El Cajon shortly after taking off, officials said.

The plane, a 1947 North American Navion, had just departed Gillespie shortly before 10 a.m. when the pilot radioed that he was having engine trouble, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. The plane was bound for Orange County’s John Wayne Airport, according to Mark Casey, a spokesman for Heartland Fire and Rescue.

According to FAA records, the plane is owned by Huntington Beach police officers David Alan Roberts and Mark David Van Meter.

Huntington Beach police Lt. Tom Weizoerick said Monday that he could not confirm the names of the officers involved in the crash but said both have been released from a hospital.

Huntington Beach Police Chief Robert Handy said during Monday night’s City Council meeting that the two officers were not seriously injured, though the third person on the plane was.

“We’re very grateful for the outpouring of support from the community,” Handy said.

The plane took off to the west, and the pilot turned around and tried to return to Gillespie. He came up short and crashed in a parking lot off Gillespie Way near Weld Avenue, Casey said.

“They were probably a few hundred feet shy,” Casey said. ”They made their best attempt.”

The plane reportedly hit a light pole as it was approaching the airport and ended up against a fence between two commercial buildings, where it burst into flames. The charred plane was left in pieces after the fire was extinguished.

By the time firefighters arrived, the three occupants of the plane were out of the aircraft and the plane was fully engulfed.

All three were taken to a trauma hospital, Casey said.

Firefighters put out the fire in about seven minutes, Casey said. The plane spilled some fuel at the crash site, and a hazardous-materials team was called to provide technical advice, he said.

No one was hurt on the ground. The parking lot is adjacent to a Cox cable building, and two Cox vehicles were damaged.

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

Kutcher writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune. Tribune Media Wire and Daily Pilot staff writers Priscella Vega and Bradley Zint contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

2:35 p.m. Dec. 19: The article was updated with Police Chief Robert Handy’s comments.

10:50 a.m. Dec. 18: This article was updated with Weizoerick’s comment that the officers have been released from a hospital.

This article was originally published at 8 a.m. Dec . 18.