Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing On Corona Golf Course

A small plane crash-landed and overturned on a Corona golf course today, but both occupants emerged largely unscathed.

The single-engine Bellanca Citabria went down near the sixth hole of the Cresta Verde Country Club around 10:50 a.m., according to the Corona Fire Department.

The pilot, identified as 53-year-old Richard Hammerslag, told authorities that he was trying to reach nearby Corona Municipal Airport after his plane developed engine trouble, but lost power and had to make a forced landing on the fairway.

The two-seat aircraft, which has two wheels under the cockpit and a third under the tail, overturned seconds after touchdown.

“It looks like the nose hit the grass and the plane flipped upside down,” said Corona fire Battalion Chief Chris Cox.

He said the aircraft came to rest near a sand trap, but he wasn’t certain whether that was what caused the plane to flip.

Hammerslag told authorities that he was taking a student pilot on a training flight, and had left Chino Hills Airport moments before the mishap.

Both men were out of the plane and walking around by the time fire crews arrived, according to Cox.

He said the student pilot was transported to Corona Regional Medical Center for treatment of a minor injury, without specifying what kind.

According to the battalion chief, there were golfers on the course, but none were in the vicinity of where the aircraft came down.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.