Pilot Dies After Crashing Home

A pilot died of injuries suffered when his single-engine light plane apparently lost power today and crashed on the roof of a home in the private, gated community of Big Canyon in Newport Beach, narrowly missing a woman and her young son who were in the kitchen, police said. The pilot, whose identity was withheld pending notification of relatives, died of injuries in Fountain Valley Community Hospital, Newport Police spokesman Trent Harris said.

Harris said the plane was en route from the San Diego area to Torrance when the pilot had trouble and tried to reach John Wayne Airport about three miles north of the crash site. The crash is under investigation, but witnesses have told police that the plane was gliding and its propeller motionless as the pilot apparently tried to land on a golf course fairway next to the house at 22 Cypress Point Lane.