Eyewitness News has learned the pilot and his 16-year-old daughter died in the crash.
FULLERTON, Calif. (KABC) — Two people were killed and 19 others were injured when a small plane crashed through the roof of a building near Fullerton Municipal Airport on Thursday, police said.
Eyewitness News has learned the pilot and his 16-year-old daughter died in the crash.
Police and firefighters responded to a furniture warehouse in the 2300 block of Raymer Avenue after the crash was reported just after 2 p.m. A four-alarm fire caused by the crash sent a plume of thick black smoke into the air that was visible for miles.
Crews battled the blaze and dozens of workers were evacuated from the building. The fire was later extinguished.
One worker said many people were terrified as they ran away from the building.
“I’ve been working five years for this company and every day there’s a plane going down here,” witness Jerome Cruz said while he pointed at the sky. “I said ‘One day it’s going to fall down on our roof’ and I think today (was) the day.”
In an evening news briefing, Michael Meacham with the Fullerton Fire Department said 19 people were treated for injuries ranging from minor to very serious. Of the 19 injured, 11 were taken to a hospital and the rest were treated and released at the scene, police said.
Security camera footage captures a fiery explosion and a large plume of black smoke as the plane appeared to dive into the building tilted on its side. Another video from inside the burning building appeared to show a person running with their arm on fire.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a single-engine Van’s RV-10.
Eliot Simpson, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the four-seat aircraft was built in 2011 and was a kit-built airplane. He added that the NTSB’s preliminary report would be available in about 14 days, with the final report taking 12 to 18 months to complete.
The plane was returning to the airport when it hit the building. According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware, the aircraft took off at 2:07 p.m. and crashed two minutes later.
“The airplane departed from Runway 24 at Fullerton about 2 p.m. this afternoon, climbed straight ahead to about 900 feet, and a short time later the pilot called for an immediate return to the airport,” Simpson said. “The tower controller then cleared the pilot to land on any runway. The airplane then appeared to make a 180-degree left turn and flew the left downwind for Runway 24 and ultimately crashed about 1,000 feet short of Runway 24. It struck a furniture building and immediately caught fire.”
The FAA and the NTSB will investigate the crash.
In November, two people were injured when a small plane crash-landed in the area of Gilbert Street and Artesia Avenue, also near Fullerton Airport.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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