A small plane crashed onto a soundwall separating a street from homes near a local airport, injuring the pilot and narrowly missing one of the homes.
A sheriff's spokesman said the single-engine plane developed mechanical problems just after taking off from the airport, and the pilot circled around but fell short of reaching the runway.
The plane's landing gear hit the 10-foot-high soundwall along College Parkway, near the east end of the runway, and that prevented the plane from slamming into a home only about 20 feet from the wall.
The pilot's identify and extent of his injuries wasn't immediately disclosed. But an officer said the pilot was conscious and talking as emergency workers lowered him from his badly damaged plane and loaded him onto a helicopter that took him to an area hospital.
