Overview
- A single-engine aircraft went down in the Santa Clara River bottom just east of Santa Paula Airport on Saturday afternoon, and the lone pilot was injured.
- The pilot was able to get out of the plane on his own and was lifted by helicopter to the airport before ambulance transport to Ventura County Medical Center in stable condition with minor injuries.
- Emergency crews from Ventura County responded to the remote site and used a hoist to extract the pilot because the river-bottom location limited ground access.
- Ventura County officials have turned the scene over to the Ventura County Sheriff's Office for an active investigation and CBS reported that the FAA and NTSB were also notified.
- Photos and on-scene accounts showed landing gear and front-end damage to the aircraft and authorities said the cause of the crash is unknown pending their inquiry.