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Councilman Robert Cormack walked away from a weekend crash of a private plane in El Monte with only a scuffed elbow.

Cormack, a pilot with 31 years of experience, said he only had a minute to decide where he was going to land the 1973 Cessna after the engine stalled 300 feet in the air. Recalling advice from a former flying instructor, Cormack tried to cushion a crash landing by aiming his plane for a large tree in a residential backyard.

The plane, registered to Delta Industries, a Santa Fe Springs company that Cormack owns one-third of, was destroyed. The tree split in half, striking a nearby telephone pole. But Cormack only scuffed his elbow when he jumped out of his plane.

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“It didn’t even bleed,” Cormack said.

Cormack said he was practicing takeoffs and landings at the El Monte Airport when the accident occurred Saturday morning.

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