Last week, a single-engine private plane went down in a Las Vegas residential neighborhood. There were no fatalities on the ground, although one person on the plane was killed. The accident has once again underscored local residents’ concerns about the wisdom of allowing planes to take off and land so close to residential areas.

The plane was carrying a group of holiday makers when it crashed, killing the pilot. There were three other passengers on the plane, and the survivors are reported to be in critical condition. Local residents say they heard a sputtering sound as the plane passed overhead at low altitude. That was followed by a loud boom a few seconds later, as the plane crashed. The Federal Aviation Administration says that the pilot took off from Henderson Executive Airport, and was unable to gain altitude. He was trying to return back to the airport, when the plane crashed.

A number of local residents rushed to help the survivors of the wreckage. The plane ended up on its roof, and survivors had suffered severe burns. It was a traumatic time for the residents who were left to their own devices to help the passengers still trapped in the plane. They had no way of knowing whether the passengers were alive or dead, and were left to douse the burning plane with water to extinguish the flames. The fact that there were no fatalities or serious injuries on the ground here was very fortunate. The plane went down very close to someone’s yard, and there could easily have been devastating consequences.

According to FAA officials, the pilot of the plane was a hero for being able to steer his plane away from houses in the area. But, it shouldn't have to be like this. Local residents say they have asked the Federal Aviation Administration for years now to enforce stricter rules on where planes can fly. Often, pilots in the area take shortcuts, which might trim two or three minutes from their flight time, but leads to planes flying in a potentially dangerous path, and over residential communities.

Unfortunately for many of the residents who purchased homes near what they believed was a small airport, it has been frightening to see that the airport has grown substantially, and volumes of aviation traffic have increased. California private plane crash lawyers don’t believe there needs to be a major disaster involving ground fatalities, for the federal agency to take this issue more seriously.