Overview
- A single-engine Cessna ran through a chain-link fence beyond Whiteman Airport’s runway and came to rest in a parking lot near 12653 W. Osborne St. after a landing attempt on Tuesday.
- Los Angeles Fire Department crews extricated the 77-year-old pilot, who sustained minor injuries, was taken for evaluation and was reported to be conscious at the scene.
- Airport officials said the landing gear failed to deploy and about five gallons of fuel leaked from the aircraft; firefighters contained the spill and there was no active fire.
- Federal investigators from the NTSB and FAA are expected to examine the crash, and the incident has prompted Supervisor Lindsey Horvath to call for operations to halt while airport advocates press for federal Airport Improvement Program funding for upgrades.
- A recent Los Angeles County Department of Public Works report recommended quarterly pilot safety seminars and roughly $5 million in pavement and marking work, and the Board of Supervisors will soon discuss whether to pursue those projects or press other measures complicated by past FAA grant rules.