Two Injured as WWII-Era Plane Crash-Lands on Highway
A World War II-vintage airplane crash-landed onto California 163 Monday, injuring the plane’s two occupants and forcing emergency officials to close northbound lanes of the roadway for about an hour.
The plane, a single-engine, four-seat Navion model once used for training military pilots, crashed shortly after taking off from Montgomery Field around 1 p.m., said Miguel Duenas, an airport operations assistant at the city-owned airfield. No vehicles on the ground were hit.
The pilot, Lawrence David Smith, 51, and his passenger, Wayne Gibson, 60, both of San Diego, were taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital. Both were reported to be in serious but stable condition with back injuries, said Gwen Barnett, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Witnesses said the plane began to surge and lose power soon after taking off, said Joe Garrison, a field operations officer for the California Highway Patrol.
The plane skidded across the four northbound lanes of California 163 just south of the Balboa Avenue exit before striking a concrete center divider, Garrison said.
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