Madera Plane Crash: Update | ABC30 Fresno

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By ABC30

Monday, March 30, 2009

Madera, CA A frightening scene for witnesses as a father and son crashed their plane into a road and a vineyard, right after liftoff from the Madera Airport. Both men suffered serious injuries when the plane went down.

The plane ended up in a vineyard right next to the municipal airport at about 1:30 PM Saturday Afternoon.

The plane is registered to David Davis of Madera. Right now, Davis is here recovering from what witnesses say was a frightening sight.

Dale Nicholson and her husband knew something was wrong when they watched this Cessna Turbo airplane take off from the Madera Municipal Airport, then plummet within a matter of seconds.

Dale Nicholson who Witnessed the accident said, "We were out at the second tee and we saw the plane taking off and was normal and then it went sputter sputter and then the engine went out, it went gliding down and we knew it was gonna hit."

That's when witnesses said the plane hit the ground here, skidded and then stopped in this nearby vineyard.

When officials arrived, the two passengers, a father and son, were pinned inside.

Cpt. Randal Cooper of the Madera Fire Department said, "Both were conscious and talking to us. So, we proceeded to make the area safe, pulled some hose line because we did have some fuel leakage we were concerned about that and we used the jaws of life to extricate both patients."

The federal aviation administration is now investigating the crash, trying to figure out why it happened.

One of the father and son victims of Saturday's plane crash in Madera has shown improvement in the hospital.

Brian Davis and his dad, David, crashed into a vineyard right next to the municipal airport right after takeoff.

The plane was mangled and emergency crews had to take David Davis to Community Regional Medical Center by helicopter.

He's still in critical condition tonight, but he's out of the emergency room.

Brian Davis is now in serious condition.