Small plane crash-lands near Kingsburg, pilot suffers minor injuries

A small plane made an emergency landing in an open field north of Kingsburg on Friday, June 26, leaving the pilot with minor injuries and bringing Kingsburg Fire Department crews to the area near Mendocino and Caruthers avenues. The aircraft came down close to the King Estates Homes development in Fresno County, where homes and construction were nearby but were not hit.

Fire crews said the plane came to rest in the field without striking surrounding homes or active construction. The landing unfolded in a developing residential area just north of Kingsburg, where a crash a little farther off course could have put more people and property in danger.

The pilot was the only person reported injured and suffered only minor injuries. No further details about the pilot’s condition were released, but the emergency landing ended without the more serious damage that could have followed a crash into the neighborhood.

The cause of the landing remained under investigation. For residents near Caruthers and Mendocino avenues, the outcome was a close call: a small aircraft went down within sight of a growing neighborhood, then stopped in an open field instead of the houses and construction nearby.