Plane lands in Phoenix school yard, no one hurt

PHOENIX -- A small plane with engine trouble landed on a school playground in west Phoenix Wednesday. No one was hurt.

About 900 students were inside Villa De Paz Elementary School when the plane made the emergency landing and tipped over on its nose about 9:30 a.m. The pilot and his student walked away.

"From my understanding, there were no children in danger," said Phoenix Police Sgt. Tommy Thompson. "There's a little berm right there, as it went over that berm, it went thrugh some fence and it landed, so it looks worse than it actually is."

Police said the pilot and flight student were trying to return to Glendale Airport when when their trouble began.

"They spotted a large tract of land here that was open, it happened to be the playground area of the school," Thompson said.

Kathy Welsh, principal of the school near 103rd Avenue and Camelback Road, said everyone was fortunate.

"The pilots didn't hit anything, they didn't hit anything. They didn't hit any buildings, they didn't hit any areas where the kids play," Welsh said.

She added, "It's like we're blessed, because everything was just right, so nobody got hurt. Nobody was even in danger of getting hurt with where it is. There were no students, no adults out there."

She added, "This is amazing. Nothing like this has ever happened, nothing like this has ever happened."

The students were evacuated after the incident and were allowed to go home if their parents picked them up.

One of the younger students, Austin Johnson, said, "I watched a plane crash."

Joe Johnson, who picked up his young son, commented, "It's a trip."

Police said the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the crash.