Sonoma man walks away from small-plane crash

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A 78-year-old man from Sonoma walked away from a small plane crash in a remote part of Fresno County on Wednesday, apparently misjudging the approach to the runway.

'He came up a little bit short,' said Tony Botti of the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Botti said the plane flipped over, but the pilot – flying a Sonex single-engine plane – walked away and refused medical treatment. 'He just had a scratch to his forehead, and was a little bit sore in his shoulder.'

The man, whose name was not released, told responding deputies that he took off earlier that day from Petaluma. He was apparently destined to Mercey Hot Springs, a small private resort and unincorporated community in the Panoche Valley, about 60 miles southwest of Fresno.

'He was the only person on the plane and fortunate to walk away,' said Botti. The FAA and NTSB were notified.

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