( CNN ) -- Two pilots in northern California were lucky to be alive Monday after they escaped a midair collision without serious injuries . A helicopter clipped a small plane in the skies over northern California on Sunday evening , sending both crashing to the ground , CNN affiliate KCRA reported , citing the Sacramento County Sheriff 's Office . The collision snapped off the helicopter 's tail , but firefighters found the pilot sitting in the car of a driver who had stopped to help , the station said . `` She was a little shaken up , but she was completely with it , '' said Capt . Brandon Wilson of the Rio Vista Fire Department . `` Initially , she did n't want to go to the hospital . `` The person that was flying it was very lucky -- very lucky -- to walk away pretty much uninjured . '' The helicopter , a Robinson R22 , went down about eight miles south of the Rio Vista Airport , between San Francisco and Sacramento . It collided with a single-engine Beechcraft Bonanza , which landed near Byron Airport , some 20 miles to the south , said Ian Gregor of the Federal Aviation Administration . Footage of the helicopter showed it resting in a field . KCRA said its severed tail rotor landed about 50 feet away from the fuselage . The plane 's pilot was not injured . `` Absolutely a best-case scenario , very lucky for everybody involved , '' Wilson said . CNN 's Greg Morrison and Stephanie Gallman contributed to this report .
The helicopter pilot is `` very lucky to be able to walk away , '' a fire official says . The helicopter crashes between San Francisco and Sacramento . The plane lands near Byron Airport , south of the helicopter crash .