Three Aboard One Of The Aircraft Involved Survive Golf Course Landing

Two airplanes were involved in a mid-air collision Monday which resulted in the fatal injury of two people on board one of the airplanes. The second aircraft made an emergency landing on a golf course, and the three people on board all survived.

The accident occurred Monday afternoon in the Santa Monica mountains west of LA, according to a report from the Associated Press. One airplane went down in a rugged region of the mountains but near a road, sparking a small brush fire which was quickly extinguished. The second fatality was not confirmed until Tuesday.

The Los Angeles Times reports that, according to radar data, the two Cessna 172s collided about eight miles northeast of Ventura, CA. The airplane which went down in the mountains had departed Santa Monica airport on a test flight following engine maintenance.

The second 172, minus its landing gear, reportedly landed on a golf course fairway after impacting a tree. Witnesses on the golf course said that the plane spun about 180 degrees before landing "with a gentle bounce," according to one witness. One of the passengers on that airplane complained of back pain, but the L.A. County Sheriff's Department described the injuries as "non-life threatening."

FMI: www.ntsb.gov