Man Lands Plane Upside-Down Near San Diego

Crisis was averted on Tuesday when a pilot escaped unharmed from the plane he crashed upside down on a Montgomery Field runway in San Diego.

It was just after 6 p.m. when the yellow Cessna came to rest, inverted, at the Serra Mesa-area general-aviation airport, according to local ABC affiliate 10 News, which cited the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). Damage to the plane is reported to be substantial.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department relayed that the pilot was able to evacuate the plane on his own after the crash. It was reported that he told emergency crews he had no need for medical care. The pilot was the only person on board.

The local news report stated that as of Tuesday evening it was unknown whether the plane was taking off or landing at the time of the crash. As of Wednesday morning, Fox 5 news reported on witness accounts that the plane was attempting to land at the time that it flipped.

On Wednesday, in a similar event, a plane crashed upside down into Canada’s Thorburn Lake. Both men aboard were unharmed, according to CBC News. Law enforcement officials said it was just after takeoff that something went awry.

In July, a small plane carrying just the pilot crashed upside down in Grundy County, Illinois near Dwight Airport according to ABC 7 News. Initially trapped, the female pilot in her 50s ultimately escaped without injury with the aide of the fire department.

In a May skydiving plane crash, 17 people were uninjured when a plane crashed upside down near Lodi, California, just after takeoff. Local CBS 13 News reported that the only injury was the pilot, who was described as bloodied by one witness who saw him exit the plane.

Also in May, Montgomery Field’s Plus One Flyers club lost one of their members when the experienced pilot crashed a single-engine Cessna in the Angeles National Forest. NBC 7 local news reported that the plane took off from Montgomery Field, headed for Santa Monica Airport.

Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana