A man and a 9-year old boy from Fresno are dead. This after their single engine plane crashes in the front yard of a home in southwest Fresno.
The accident happened around 6:30 Thursday evening just outside of Chandler Airport’s fence line.
Police say the plane first hit the top of a tree about a mile away near Kearney Boulevard and Thorne Avenue and then eventually crashed at West and Chandler Avenues.
Police say the parents of the child were waiting at the airport for him to return when they witnessed the Cessna 172 go down about 800 feet past the runway.
“As it stands, no on in the house was injured. Eyewitness reports are saying the plane essentially fell straight out of the sky,” said Koby Johns of the Fresno Fire Dept.
“It was ugly, really ugly,” said Esmeralda Ortega, a witness.
Esmeralda Ortega was visiting family a few doors down from where the plane crashed. She dialed 911 after noticing the wreckage on fire.
“They didn’t die from thermal injuries. They died on impact,” said Johns.
Investigators say the man piloting the plane and his 9-year old passenger were flying back from Tehachapi. The aircraft then suddenly clipped the branches of a tall tree on
the outskirts of Chandler Airport.
“It sounds like it just stalled and didn’t have enough air speed,” said Johns.
It’s unclear how much experience the pilot had flying. We also do not know how exactly this man and boy from Fresno are related.
“It’s possibly an uncle, said Johns.
Such a sad set of circumstances leaves many people with heavy hearts.
“It’s hard losing a kid. Especially at nine years old. They didn’t even get to live their life,” said Ortega.