Close Call as Plane Crashes in El Cajon Neighborhood

A close call in an El Cajon neighborhood Sunday night just after 6 p.m. when a small plane went down but did not crash into any houses.

Heartland Fire officials say units responded at 6:16 p.m. to the scene on Lily Avenue and Clarke Drive.

Fire officials say the pilot was injured and transported to Sharp Memorial, but the severity of the pilot's injuries was unknown. An eyewitness told KOGO News at the scene the pilot was sitting on the street. The witness said he saw the plane clip at least one power line and he was worried it would hit a nearby house.

Multiple power lines were brought down during the crash and SDGE reported at least 1,400 customers lost their power. All but about 160 customers had power back on by 8 p.m.

According to the plane's tail number, FlightAware shows the plane took off from Gillespie Field at 5:52 p.m. The tracker shows the path of the plane heading east before turning around and heading back west toward Gillespie Field before crashing in the El Cajon neighborhood.

(Photo Heartland Fire Rescue)