Plane lands in flooded ag field in Castroville, male pilot suffers a leg injury and expected to survive

CASTROVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE ON MARCH 12, 2023 AT 6:36 P.M.- A male pilot suffered a left leg injury after his plane landed in a flooded slough near Highway 156.

Tim Hudson who is a captain with the North County Fire Protection District confirmed the plane landed nose first in the flooded slough behind the Castroville Shopping Center which is west of Highway 156.

Hudson said the pilot ejected himself from the plane and landed on the other side of Highway 156 in a field behind the Shell Gas Station on Merritt Street.

"We checked on the patient to just confirm that there was not more than one person involved," Hudson said. "He confirmed that he was the only one on board."

Hudson said the pilot was taken to Natividad Medical Center to be treated for his injury.

The FAA and NTSB will be investigating the crash in the coming days. Hudson said the plane will remain in the water for the next couple of days until the pilot recovers the aircraft.

ORGINAL STORY

CHP Monterey confirmed that an airplane crashed in a wet ag field near the northbound side of Highway 156 on Sunday afternoon.

CHP said the pilot was able to escape the plane via parachute and landed near the southbound side of Highway 156. The pilot was taken to a local hospital and there is no word on their condition.

Officers said they got calls of a plane flying erratically around 2:06 p.m. The plane landed in the wet ag field and did not explode. It is still unsure if the plane was flying in a north or southbound direction.

CHP said nobody was in the area when the plane crashed.

This article will continue to be updated.