Pilot Critically Injured in Crash

A single-engine plane crashed in a field in Lancaster Friday night, injuring the pilot, authorities said.

Palmer Swanson, 60, of Lancaster was the only person aboard the plane, which crashed about 5 p.m. in the 5300 block of West Avenue B, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spokesman said. He was airlifted to Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where he was in critical condition with head and neck injuries, said Ann Lipman, a nursing supervisor at the hospital.

A Los Angeles County Fire Department spokeswoman said Swanson was trying to land at Fox Field when he apparently lost control of the plane in high winds. The crash is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, Fire Department officials said.