Fierce Winds Flip Plane At John Wayne Airport Monday

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — A sudden gust of wind flipped over a single-engine plane at John Wayne Airport Monday morning, but the pilot avoided any injury.

The Cessna 172 was taxiing down a runway at the airport when the wind pushed the nose down, spokeswoman for JWA AnnaSophia Servin said. The pilot got out, and while assessing the plane, a gust flipped it over just before 8:50 a.m.

The plane was towed to the side while the airfield was closed for about 20 minutes, Servin said. The runway was later reopened just after 9:30 a.m.

The incident comes as fierce winds battered Southern California Monday, prompting weather officials to issue a high wind advisory.

The winds were the likely cause of a light pole falling down at Disneyland and injuring three people the same Monday morning.

No further information was immediately available.