COUNTYWIDE : Student Pilot Walks Away in Wayne Crash

A student pilot practicing takeoff and landing maneuvers in a single-engine plane on Monday crashed nose first at John Wayne Airport but managed to walk away from the wreckage with only a scraped hand.

“It’s amazing he wasn’t hurt more,” said Orange County Fire Capt. Dan Young. “I wonder if he knows how lucky he was.”

The pilot, Ian Matyear, 47, of Costa Mesa, apparently had been practicing “touch-and-go” landings on Runway 19 Left on the east side of the airport when the plane dived into the concrete strip.

Officials at the control tower immediately contacted Fire Station 33 after the 5:20 p.m. crash. About 10 firefighters were on the scene within a minute, fire officials said.

As firefighters approached the red and white Cessna 152, it burst into flames. Two fire crews doused the flames with treated foam and a third crew attempted to rescue the pilot, not realizing that he had already escaped from the craft.

“He was very lucky he got out as quickly as he did,” said Fire Capt. Brian Stephens, who was in charge of the three crash units. “The interior (of the plane) is completely gutted.”

Stephens said Matyear ran up to the firefighters after the fire was put out. “He was visibly nervous, as anyone would have been,” he said.

Matyear, who was waiting to be interviewed by Federal Aviation Administration officials, declined to comment. Authorities said Matyear was a student pilot with about 70 hours of flight experience.

The cause of the crash had not been determined, Young said.

Operations on the runway, which is used primarily by small aircraft, were halted for 80 minutes as fire crews cleared the wreckage. Stephens said the plane was damaged beyond repair.

Matyear, who scraped the knuckle on his right hand, refused medical treatment at the scene.

The plane was registered to Sunrise Aviation, based at John Wayne Airport. Representatives at Sunrise Aviation also declined comment.

The crash was the second incident involving a small plane at the airport on Monday. About 11:30 a.m. a two-engine plane blew a tire on its landing. Fire officials had to tow the craft off the runway, but nobody was injured during the incident.