Watch: California plane barely misses a golfer as it crashes
(Haggin Oaks Golf Complex)
Call it a miracle. A golfer was nearly struck Sunday afternoon by a plane that crash-landed on a popular golf course in Sacramento.
Video footage provided by Haggin Oaks Golf Complex shows the single engine Piper PA-28 barreling down on the golf course, slamming into the ground and skidding across a road and practice green before hitting a repair shop. The golf course sits near the Sacramento McClellan Airport and is adjacent to Interstate 80.
The plane’s tail passed within makable putt distance of a startled golfer on the green.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” said Capt. Justin Sylvia of the Sacramento Fire Department. “There’s a very large populated parking lot right next door to it and on the other side is the freeway.”
He said the pilot managed to avoid hitting a large tree on the golf course as well.
The crash, Sylvia said, was reported on Sunday after 1 p.m., when the fire department was notified about a downed aircraft at the golf course.
“When our units arrived they saw fuel leaking from the aircraft,” he said. “They immediately put hose lines on the ground.”
He said the pilot was standing outside the single-engine aircraft, which did not go into the building. No bystanders were hurt, Sylvia said.
Haggin Oaks said the plane crashed on the 10th tee of the Arcade Creek Golf Course, which is one of two golf courses on the property, and struck the Mackenzie Pro Shop.
“Due to clean-up efforts and safety precautions, our restaurant and pro shop will be closed for the remainder of the day,” the golf course wrote on its post that day.
The plane continued to Denver and landed safely with no reported injuries on the aircraft or on the ground, according to United Airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Sylvia said he spoke to the pilot, who told him that he had taken off from the nearby airport and was 400 feet in the air when he experienced a “complete engine failure.”
“He needed to lay the aircraft down and saw the golf course,” he said.
Sylvia said the pilot suffered a very minor cut to his hand and was transported to a hospital by fire paramedics after complaining of anxiety-like symptoms.
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