Five people have died and two others have been injured after a small plane came apart, raining debris across a southern California neighborhood.
The Cessna 414A took off from the Fullerton Municipal Airport about 12 miles west of the blaze, Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer said.
The male pilot, who was the only person in the twin-engine plane, and four people in the Yorba Linda house that caught fire died on Sunday, Orange County Sheriff’s Lieutenant Cory Martino said at a news conference on Sunday night.
He said the deceased occupants of the home were two males and two females. No other identifying information such as names or ages was immediately released.
A two-story house burst into flames after being struck by the main cabin and one engine of the plane, sending panicked neighbors into the streets.
The second engine dislodged and fell on to the street, creating a large hole in the asphalt, according to Eliott Simpson, an aviation accident investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
“It was a boom. It sounded like something exploded. It shook our house,” said John Wolbart, who lives nearby.NAN
