Pilot Killed in Las Vegas Plane Crash
- Share via
LAS VEGAS — A single-engine private plane barely missed an apartment building and a busy highway Thursday before clipping a power line and slamming into the desert, killing the pilot.
Police Lt. Dwight Mayhan said the pilot of the Cessna 150 advised the control tower at McCarran International Airport just before noon that he was not going to make it to the airport.
Mayhan said the aircraft was registered in Salt Lake City, but the name of the pilot was not immediately known. He was alone in the craft.
James Suarez, 13, said he watched the orange and white plane head directly for the three-story Montara Meadows apartments, then swerve up at just the last minute.
James said he thought the plane was going to hit the building.
The plane then crossed over Tropicana Avenue, one of the city’s busiest streets, and nipped power lines that flipped the craft over and sent it nose-first into the desert about 100 feet from the street.
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
