Small Planes Collide Northeast of San Diego; Pilots Survive
Two small planes collided near a rural airfield Thursday, forcing each to make an emergency landing but sparing the lives of both pilots.
One craft landed on the runway of the small airport and the other landed in a nearby field, leaving behind only burned wreckage and the unidentified pilot who walked away with minor injuries, said Mike Vogt of the California Department of Forestry.
Jeff Reynolds of the Federal Aviation Administration said each craft carried a transponder, which will help investigators piece together where the airplanes were located when the accident occurred and what caused it.
One plane crash-landed in a brushy area next to the Ramona Airport, 36 miles northeast of San Diego. It set off a small fire that burned two acres, Vogt said. The pilot of the plane that made a belly landing on the runway also walked away relatively unscathed, authorities said.
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