Crime & Safety
Sonoma County Plane Crash Seriously Injures Pilot
The pilot was airlifted from the site of the crash to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A 73-year-old man from Sebastopol was seriously injured after his plane crashed in a rural Sonoma County field on Sunday evening. The crash happened in the area of state Highway 1 near School Road in the unincorporated community of Valley Ford, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officials said 911 callers began reporting the crash at about 6:07 p.m., and the plane was a light aircraft.
A CHP helicopter, Marin County sheriff's deputies and Sonoma County sheriff's deputies responded to locate the aircraft.
The pilot was trapped in the plane when emergency responders found him, according to the CHP, and he was seriously injured in the crash.
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Fire personnel used "the jaws of life," a tool used to separate wreckage, to remove the pilot from the plane.
He had major injuries and was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on a CHP helicopter. He is expected to live.
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The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the crash.
By Bay City News Service
Image via Shutterstock
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