FULLERTON, California — Two people were killed and 18 injured Thursday when a small plane crashed into the roof of a massive furniture manufacturing building in Southern California where at least 200 people worked, police said.
The identities of the people who died are not yet known, nor whether they were on the plane or on the ground, said Fullerton police spokeswoman Kristy Wells.
The plane crashed less than two minutes after taking off from Fullerton Municipal Airport in Orange County, located just six miles from Disneyland, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
Security camera footage from Rucci Forged, a wheel manufacturer across the street, shows the plane banking on its side as it plunged toward the building, causing a fiery explosion and a plume of black smoke.
Firefighters and police arrived at the scene, fought the fire and evacuated surrounding businesses, Wells said.
Chris Villalobos, an airport operations worker, came to the warehouse to see what had happened after receiving a phone call about a plane crashing nearby.
He said the owner of the plane was a regular customer of the airport and frequently took off from there.
“He has a hangar here and everything,” Villalobos said.
Villalobos said that after taking off, the pilot told air traffic control that he was going to turn around to make an emergency landing, but it was unclear what the problem was with the plane.
The building was occupied by Michael Nicholas Designs, a furniture upholstery manufacturer, according to a sign on a door, and there appeared to be sewing machines and textiles inside.
Ten people were taken to hospital, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said. According to Wells, there were two confirmed deaths.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the plane was a single-engine RV-10 Van, a four-seat plane.
Fullerton Airport has one runway and one heliport. Metrolink, a regional rail line, is nearby and flanks a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse buildings.
Another four-seat plane crashed into a tree a half-mile from the airport last November while making an emergency landing just after takeoff, the Orange County Register reported. Both people on board suffered moderate injuries.
Fullerton is a city of approximately 140,000 people 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
