Los Angeles County Fire Department

Small Plane Crashes at Catalina Airport, 2 Injured

A man and woman remained hospitalized a day after they were injured in a plane crash single-engine plane crash Sunday at Catalina Airport.

The pilot was in critical condition and his female passenger was in serious condition Monday, according to family members. One of the victims was thrown from the wreckage, another trapped inside after the crash on Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California.

Family members said the crash victims are expected to recover.

The FAA said the plane is a Cessna 172 that departed from Long Beach. A family member of the victims told NBC4 the pilot overshot the runway, which begins at the edge of a cliff and features an uphill slope, during the landing.

The plane went down around 4:40 p.m.

Fire crews hoisted the injured via helicopter to transport them to the hospital. A medic was hoisted down to the victims during a complex rescue operation on the mountainside. 

"You're kind of limited on what your resources are on that type of terrain," said deputy paramedic Daniel Aleman, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. "

The FAA was handling the subsequent investigation.

NBC4's Jonathan Lloyd and Rick Montanez contributed to this report.

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