Small plane crashes in Wauwatosa neighborhood

A small plane crashed in a residential area in Wauwatosa Thursday afternoon.

The pilot is in critical condition.

Wauwatosa’s police chief says the single-engine plane crashed in a home’s backyard around 3 p.m. in the 4600 block of North 103rd Street.

Paramedics transported the pilot to a local hospital’s trauma center. Police say the pilot was taking off when the crash happened. He was the only occupant in the plane.

The plane narrowly missed houses in the area. Police say there doesn’t seem to have been damage done.

Wauwatosa Police Chief James MacGillis said the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department and Milwaukee Police Department were supporting investigations on the incident. MacGillis said the Milwaukee County Fire Department responded to the crash, assisted by the Wauwatosa and Milwaukee fire departments. He said the FAA and the NTSB had been notified.

A similar single-engine plane crash in a residential neighborhood in nearby Waukesha in October of last year killed the pilot and the passenger.