The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating why a small plane crashed into a house moments after takeoff from the Big Bear airport on Sunday morning.

It could take months before they know why the plane struck a house on Mountain View Boulevard at about 7:20 a.m., said Ian Gregor, spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Firefighters assisted the pilot, identified only as a male, out of the twin-engine Piper Comanche. The plane had taken off from Big Bear airport only moments before and may have been on its way back because of a problem.

The plane crashed through the roof of one home, flipped onto its nose and came to rest between the home it struck and a neighboring house. Fuel was leaking from the plane when firefighters arrived, a Big Bear City Fire Department news release stated.

The pilot was taken by helicopter to an area hospital with a trauma center suffering from moderate to serious injuries, the news release stated. The plane carried only the pilot.

A person inside the home initially struck by the plane suffered minor injuries, Gregor said. That person’s name also was not released.

The crash caused major damage to one home and minor damage to another.

Mountain View Boulevard is about 100 yards north of the airport’s runway on the east side of Big Bear Lake. The crash knocked out power in the neighborhood, the Fire Department release stated.

The plane was registered to Tower General Contractors in the San Fernando Valley, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s registry. The company contact is listed as Jose Nativisad Flores-Cortes, according to the California Secretary of State’s website.

The twin-engine Comanche is 26 feet long with a wingspan of almost 37 feet. It can carry up to six people depending on its configuration.

Reach David Keck at dkeck@pe.com or 951-368-9468

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