Crime & Safety

Plane Crashes at Watsonville Airport

The aviation accident happened on a runway Friday afternoon.

Update, 6:38 p.m. Friday: According to Watsonville Fire Department Capt. John Martorella, there was only one person on board the plane. The pilot only suffered a couple of minor cuts on his head and looked a little dazed as he sat in a golf cart. 

A pair of WFD trucks were on the scene along with an ambulance. There is still no information on what caused the plane to flip over and the FAA will conduct a further investigation, also according to Capt. Martorella.

Original story, 5:30 p.m. Friday: A plane crashed at the Watsonville Airport just after 5 p.m. Friday, authorities reported.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The fixed-wing plane apparently flipped and went down on Runway 20, according to emergency radio traffic.

There were two people on board. One, a man in his 50s or 60s, was able to get out of the wrecked aircraft on his own and possibly had a head injury, according to emergency radio traffic.

Find out what's happening in Watsonvillewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The state of the second person wasn't immediately available.

The plane crash is the latest is a string of aviation accidents linked to the Watsonville Airport.

A skydiving plane based at the airport crashed into an apple orchard this summer. Only the pilot was on board and he was not hurt.

In July 2011, a Santa Cruz family of four died when their small plane crashed into the nearby Watsonville Community Hospital campus shortly after takeoff.


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