Pilot, Son Hurt in Buena Park Crash
The pilot of a single-engine airplane en route to Fullerton Airport was critically injured Sunday when his plane crashed on a residential street, smashed into a stop sign, skidded through an intersection and slammed into a metal-cutting factory, authorities said.
Pilot Albert Swafford, 47, and his son, Kyle, 17, both of Bakersfield, were taken to UC Irvine Medical Center, where the elder Swafford was listed in critical condition, said Buena Park Fire Capt. Christopher L. Abraham. Kyle Swafford was listed as stable. No one on the ground was hurt in the 11 a.m. crash.
“It sounded like he had stalled, then all of a sudden his power kicked on, and I think this gave him the power to continue onto the street,” said Greg Seneshal, 33, who lives about a quarter-mile southwest of the airport.
The badly damaged plane skidded across the four-lane intersection at Dale Street near Handel Drive, then knocked down a cement retaining wall before coming to rest.
The crash is the second in two weeks involving private planes coming to or from Fullerton Airport.
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