Plane leaks fuel after landing hard in Placerville
By Matt Kawahara, Sacramento Bee
A small airplane attempting to take off from the Placerville Airport on Monday made a hard landing near the runway, causing the pilot to be hospitalized and fuel to leak from the damaged aircraft, officials said.
The plane lifted off briefly before hitting the ground off the side of the runway around 4 p.m., said El Dorado County sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Bryan Golmitz. Officials said the cause is unknown.
Fire crews responded and found the pilot had climbed out of the downed plane, said El Dorado County Fire District Battalion Chief Tim Cordero. The pilot, the only occupant of the plane, was evaluated by paramedics and transported to a local hospital, Cordero said.