Plane Crashes on Street, Injuring Pilot, Passenger : Accidents: A craft returning from Las Vegas nose-dives onto Truman Street in San Fernando while making an emergency approach to Whiteman Airport.

A light plane making an emergency approach to Whiteman Airport in Pacoima hit power lines and crashed onto a San Fernando street Wednesday night, seriously injuring the pilot and his passenger and disrupting power to nearly 3,000 residents, authorities said Thursday.

The two-seat Cessna 152 crashed eight minutes after pilot Anthony Ast, 31, radioed the Burbank Airport tower to report a loss of engine power, said Wayne Pollack, air safety investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

Pollack said the plane appeared to have nose-dived onto Truman Street--at Wolfskill Street--after striking a group of 4,000-volt power lines about 11:10 p.m. Firefighters had to cut through the wreckage to free Ast and passenger Petra Yearwood, 32, according to a Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman.

The plane was returning to Whiteman from Las Vegas, where the couple had gone on a pleasure trip, Pollack said. No one on the ground was injured.

Electricity was disrupted for about 30 seconds to 2,000 San Fernando residents after the crash, and 854 customers were without power for slightly more than two hours, said Rosalie Gnam, area manager for the Southern California Edison Co.

Ast underwent surgery Thursday morning at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and was listed in stable condition with a broken ankle and cuts, hospital spokeswoman Maggie Cessar said. Yearwood suffered a broken spine and ankle and multiple cuts, Cessar said.

Ast is a resident of Simi Valley, according to his pilot’s certificate. Officials had not determined Yearwood’s hometown.

The crash occurred on a stretch of road lined by small businesses and light industry, about two miles northwest of Whiteman Airport.

Pollack said it would be several months before safety inspectors determine the cause of the crash. He said that a preliminary review of the wreckage showed that there was very little fuel in the wing tanks, but it had not been determined if the plane had run out of gas.

The plane had taken off from McCarren International Airport in Las Vegas at 8:15 p.m., Pollack said. He said Ast holds a commercial pilot’s license and is a certified flight instructor and aircraft mechanic.

Pollack said the registered operator of the aircraft is Sunquest Aviation, which rents planes at Whiteman Airport.