Pilot escapes injury in plane crash at Petaluma airport

PETALUMA, Calif. — A pilot crash-landed in a hangar at Petaluma Municipal Airport on Sunday but suffered no injuries, authorities said.

Petaluma Fire Department and Rancho Adobe Fire emergency personnel were dispatched around 6:45 p.m. Sunday to report a plane in a hangar and were on the scene within minutes, Petaluma FD Battalion Chief Mike Medeiros said. .

Firefighters discovered a small plane had crashed and become stuck in the side of a metal hangar, Medeiros said. The pilot, who was the only person inside the aircraft, managed to extricate himself from the wreckage.

The single-engine Cessna 182H Skylane is registered in Fairfax, Marin County.

Crews worked to stop gasoline leaking from the plane.

The airport manager also responded and said the National Transportation Safety Board, or NTSB, and the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, have been notified.

“An investigation into the incident and the removal of the aircraft is ongoing and will be completed as soon as possible,” Medeiros said.

The owners of the damaged hangar were on site and said there were no aircraft inside the hangar at the time of the crash.

There was no immediate damage estimate, as it depended on the completion of the investigation and the removal of the plane, Medeiros said.