1 dead, 2 injured after small plane crashes near Palo Alto Airport
A pilot killed in a plane crash Tuesday afternoon near Palo Alto Airport was volunteering his time with a nonprofit that provides free, nonemergency air travel for children and adults with serious medical conditions.
The man, whose name has not yet been released, had flown a patient and their mother from Redding to Palo Alto for a medical appointment at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. The flight was coordinated through Angel Flight West, a Santa Monica-based nonprofit that organizes about 15 to 20 volunteer flights each day, says Josh Olson, the organization’s executive director.
The single-engine Mooney M20 crashed about 11:10 a.m. while the pilot was executing a “go around” — a common aircraft maneuver performed when the pilot is not satisfied the requirements are in place for a safe landing. The plane crashed in a duck pond about a quarter of a mile off the departure end of Runway 13, said Ian Gregor, a spokesman with the Federal Aviation Administration.
The pilot, a man who officials said was in his 60s, died. Two adult female passengers were transported to Stanford Trauma Center, said Deputy Chief Geo Blackshire of the Palo Alto Fire Department. As of Tuesday afternoon, they were both listed in stable condition.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board will both investigate the crash.
Twitter: @jaclyncosgrove
UPDATES:
4 p.m.: This article was updated to include information about Angel Flight West and the conditions of both survivors.
12:50 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the plane.
12:05 p.m.: This article was updated with information about the crash victims and the location of the crash.
This article was originally published at 11:50 a.m.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
