For the line-speed-challenged;
A pilot was injured Saturday afternoon when his homemade gyrocopter crashed at El Mirage Dry Lake Bed and caught fire, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department reported.
The man, described only as an Anaheim resident, was airlifted to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton for treatment, said Arden Wiltshire, a Sheriff's Department spokeswoman.
"The craft caught fire on impact, but the occupant was able to get out of the aircraft," Wiltshire said. "He suffered severe burns to the left side of his body."
The accident was reported at 1:20 p.m. in the remote High Desert community, northwest of Adelanto. El Mirage Dry Lake Bed is in the vast El Mirage Off-Highway Vehicle Recreation Area. The small El Mirage Airport is just south of the lake bed.
The pilot, who also owns the experimental aircraft, was alone aboard the gyrocopter. The pilot also suffered some moderate internal injuries.
"No one on the ground was injured. He was the only one," Wiltshire said.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration are expected to visit the crash site on Sunday to investigate, she added.
The area also is popular with remote control airplane hobbyists and aviation enthusiasts who build their own "ultralight" aircraft, Wiltshire said.
