Plane makes crash landing at Haggin Oaks Golf Course, skids into pro shop

The pilot of a small plane made an emergency landing at Haggin Oaks Golf Course in Sacramento Sunday, according to local authorities. The pilot walked away with a minor injury and no other injuries were reported.

Sacramento Fire Department public information officer Justin Sylvia said the solo-occupant pilot plane took off from McClellan Airport and experienced engine failure after takeoff at 400 feet, but the pilot was not able to emergency land back at the airport.

Instead, he decided to land the plane near a putting green, after which it slid on the grass to rest at the wall of the golf course pro shop, he said. Fire crews were dispatched to the area just after 1 pm.

“He laid it down on part of a fairway, it skipped across the putting green and made very minor contact with the building,” Sylvia said. “There were some paint marks on the building and the pilot only had a scratch to his hand.”

Justin Owens was chipping on the practice green when he saw the plane coming down just over his shoulder. He watched as it crash landed and continued into the pro shop — and relieved to see the pilot exit the plane a minute later.

“It really happened so fast that I didn’t have much time to react,” he said. “It wasn’t on line to hit me so I didn’t move or anything like that. It was just happening in slow motion.”