At around 1pm last Sunday, a man was chipping on a practice green in Sacramento, California.
On surveillance video, the man is seen flinching and jumping away as a propeller plane suddenly crashes past him at high speed, over the green and into the golf shop a short distance away.
“Good place to land”
Moments earlier, the plane, a Piper PA28, had crashed shortly after takeoff. The pilot chose to make an emergency landing on the golf course and the plane was slowed by hitting a grandstand on the way to the clubhouse.
– It’s a good place to land, open and good, says local fire department spokesman Justin Sylvia Fox 40.
No one was injured
The golf course was full of people but the pilot managed to miss every single one and no one was hurt. The pilot himself was taken to hospital for a check-up and was found to have suffered minor injuries. He got out of the plane himself.
– It is quite remarkable that the pilot succeeded. There is a large parking lot right next to it with a lot of people and on the other side is the highway, says Justin Sylvia Los Angeles Times.
“Insane”
The man who was a few meters from the aircraft did not seem to notice the aircraft until it came very close, and several witnesses describe a rapid progress. An employee at the golf course tells Fox 40 that he suddenly heard a loud bang and at first he didn’t understand what it was.
Another saw the accident with his own eyes.
– I’ve never seen anything like it, it was insane, Tim Cowan told Fox 40.
To be investigated
The golf club Haggin Oaks Golf Complex writes on Facebook that the building that was hit has suffered minor damage. It was kept closed while the fire department cleaned up leaked gasoline but was able to reopen later that day.
The accident will now be investigated by the American aviation authority FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board, corresponding to Sweden’s accident commission, reports CBS News.