Fire officials said the plane crashed into a field near Highway 405 shortly after takeoff from Van Nuys Airport Thursday morning, and two people were “very lucky” to walk away from the forced landing.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a news bulletin that the two occupants, identified only as a man and a woman, safely exited the aircraft after the 1968 Cessna crashed around 7 a.m. near the 15300 block of West Burbank Boulevard. .
“We found it upside down in this muddy area. Luckily there was no fire and no rescue was required,” LAFD Capt. Eric Scott said. “We were very fortunate that those occupants left today.”
Scott said the man and woman were able to get off the plane on their own and suffered only minor lacerations to their faces. Both men refused transport to a local hospital.
The plane lost contact with the tower and crashed into the Sepulveda Basin, about three miles south of Van Nuys Airport.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating the cause of the crash.
Meanwhile, around 8 a.m., a fire broke out just a few blocks away as the investigation continued.
Large plumes of smoke could be seen rising among commuters traveling on the already slow 405.
“It was a reported trash fire at a homeless encampment,” Scott said.
The fire was extinguished and no one was injured.
