Small plane crashes on soccer field in Long Beach, injuring pilot and pedestrian

LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A small plane crash landed on a soccer field at a park in a Long Beach neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, injuring the pilot and an unsuspecting woman who was on the ground.

AIR7 was over Heartwell Park, in the area of Carson Street and Clark Avenue, around 4:20 p.m. as ambulances and a fire engine responded to the scene.

The aircraft, which appears to be a home-built two-seater, landed on its belly because of an issue with its landing gear.

The incident happened while many people were at the park, and one witness described it as "chaos."

Crews managed to rescue the pilot, but a woman who was at the park was hit during the crash landing.

Eyewitness Jimmy Sebastian Gallegos described the terrifying moments his friend was struck.

"I saw it come down, it hit the ground and as it hit the ground, my friend and her dog were walking in the park...," said Gallegos. "She didn't have time at all... it just took her. I mean, it happened in .1 second, you know? It was that fast."

Both the pilot and the woman were taken to the hospital and are expected to be OK.

Further details on the incident were not immediately available.

Eyewitness News reached out to the Federal Aviation Administration for a statement, and the agency replied with an automated message due to the government shutdown.