Small plane crashes in El Cajon neighborhood; passengers walk away unhurt

A small plane crash landed in a residential neighborhood in El Cajon on Sunday afternoon, but the two people onboard escaped unharmed, authorities said.

The single-engine Piper lost power about 1:45 p.m. and crashed about one mile east of Gillespie Airport, said Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane ended up on North Second Street near El Rey Avenue, he said.

As the aircraft descended, it hit power lines in the area, said Heartland Fire-Rescue spokesman Sonny Saghera. No one in the area was injured, he said.

“We just got [the call] as a plane down, so it’s hard to know until we get there” how bad it’s going to be, Saghera said. “When we saw it, it was in the middle of the street and the people were already outside of the plane. It landed right in the middle of the street.”

People gathered to look at the plane, which ended up tilted on its side — one wing broken and mangled — outside the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Two people who were onboard declined medical care, Saghera said.

He said the plane spilled fuel onto the street in the crash. Crews worked to quickly clean it up.

He said San Diego Gas & Electric was called to take care of the downed power lines.

The 32-year-old Piper fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft is registered to a Ramona man, according to FAA records. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

karen.kucher@sduniontribune.com