Emergency Landing at Whiteman Airport: Lancair Legacy 2000 Crashes into Parking Lot
A general aviation aircraft executed a dramatic emergency landing at Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, Los Angeles, on the morning of June 16, 2026. The plane’s landing gear failed to properly deploy, causing the plane to crash through a chain-link fence and into an airport parking lot.
The aircraft, a Lancair Legacy 2000—a two-seat, single-engine light aircraft—touched down on runway 12 at approximately 9:11 a.m. local time. Due to its gear malfunction, the plane veered off the runway, punched through a fence, and came to rest under a tree within airport property. Fragments of a wing were scattered across the lot, and approximately five gallons of fuel leaked from the wreckage. However, the spill was quickly contained.
The sole occupant of the aircraft, a 77-year-old male pilot, was successfully extricated by the Los Angeles Fire Department. Initially, he declined medical transport but later traveled to a local hospital for evaluation of minor injuries. Remarkably, no other injuries were reported among airport staff or bystanders.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have both been notified and the FAA is expected to investigate. This incident has reignited debate about Whiteman Airport’s future, with Los Angeles County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath calling for operations to be suspended pending the federal investigation.