Plane narrowly misses golfer as pilot makes emergency landing at golf course

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) – The pilot of a small plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a California golf course after the plane’s engine failed shortly after takeoff.

Tim Colin was among those golfing Sunday afternoon at Haggin Oaks Golf Complex in Sacramento, California, when a plane made an emergency landing on the course.

“We were on the 16th hole when this happened. Our group heard the loud crash, but we had no idea it was a plane,” Colin said

Dramatic surveillance video shows the plane making a belly landing. It skids quickly across a practice green, narrowly avoiding hitting a golfer.

The plane came to a stop resting against the Haggin Oaks’ pro shop, according to Ken Morton Jr., the vice president of Morton Golf, which operates the golf course.

“Literally 10 feet to the right, it would have gone through our glass door, straight into the pro shop,” Morton said. “I have lots of staff, lots of customers in there, and it would have been really disastrous. The fact it ended up with everyone being OK is really a miracle.”

The Federal Aviation Administration says the single engine Piper PA-28 had just taken off from McClellan Airfield, which is less than 5 miles away, when the plane’s engine failed. At about 400 feet altitude, the pilot had to find a safe place to make an emergency landing.

“Luckily, there was a golf course nearby where he could lay it down,” said Capt. Justin Sylvia with the Sacramento Fire Department. “Nobody was injured. Surprisingly, the pilot was able to get out of the aircraft with just a small laceration to his hand.”

Golfers like Fred Robertson are grateful everyone is OK.

“Definitely counting my blessings,” Robertson said. “I usually putt right on that putting green… but just by chance, something told me to hold off before I got here. Sure enough. It isn’t too often planes fall out of the sky.”

The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are both investigating the incident.