Photo: Long Beach Fire Department
A small plane crashed during an emergency landing at Heartwell Park in Long Beach, California, on Tuesday (October 21), injuring the pilot and a pedestrian. The plane, originating from Compton and headed to French Valley, attempted to return to Long Beach Airport but crash-landed around 4 p.m. on a soccer field, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
The pilot, an elderly man, and a woman in her 40s were both hospitalized with moderate but stable injuries. Firefighters arrived to find the aircraft on its belly with broken landing gear. The plane's fuselage remained intact, but it had collided with the pedestrian during its landing attempt.
The aircraft was a Long-EZ model, known for its unique design by Burt Rutan. The Federal Aviation Administration records show the plane was built in 1986 and registered to a pilot in Rancho Palos Verdes.
The plane had taken off from Compton/Woodley Airport earlier in the day and landed at French Valley Airport before heading back toward Long Beach. The crash occurred about a mile and a half from Long Beach Airport.
The cause of the crash is under investigation, and more details will be released as they become available. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson expressed relief that there were no fatalities, saying, "The good news is it could have been a whole lot worse."