Playing Through, Errant Flier Is Bunkered

An antique single-engine plane on its way to an air show developed engine trouble over east San Diego on Saturday morning and crash-landed at Navajo Valley Golf Course.

The plane, a 1938 Waco, was on the way from Montgomery Field to Brown Field when the engine “just quit,” a Federal Aviation Administration official said. No one in the plane or on the ground was injured, said San Diego Police Sgt. Nate Caplan. On board were pilot Bill Allen, his wife, Maxine, and Dennis Ciapora, all of San Diego.

The plane scattered golfers on the crowded course as it touched down on a fairway and then bounced in and out of a sand trap near the 12th hole, witnesses said. The plane sustained “considerable” damage, Caplan said.

Golfers were instructed to take par on the 12th hole and play on.