A small plane crash at Whiteman Airport that resulted in the death of a flight instructor and a boy being critically injured remains under investigation.
The crash was reported about 5:10 p.m. Monday at the airport in Pacoima, officials said.
The Cessna 150L was taking off from the airport when it experienced an unknown problem. An emergency was declared over the radio before the plane crashed into a building and landed upside down, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. A small fire erupted after the crash, but the flames were extinguished by witnesses who work at a LA County Fire Department facility in the airport.
Both victims, a 12-year-old boy and a 60-year-old flight instructor, were eventually extricated.
The man suffered cardiac arrest and was given CPR before he and the boy were taken to nearby trauma centers, officials said.
The man, who has not been identified, eventually died, while the boy was listed as being in critical condition.
A bulldozer crew told KTLA that the boy’s father purchased a flying lesson as a birthday gift for his son. The father was at the airport and witnessed the crash. Officials originally identified the boy as being 13, but it is unclear if he had been celebrating his birthday on Monday.
The plane was registered in Sheridan, Wyoming, according to Federal Aviation Administration records, but was based at Whiteman Airport.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.