A small plane crashed Thursday afternoon in Orange County, killing two people and injuring 19.
The Federal Aviation Administration reports that at 2:15 p.m. PST, a single-engine Van’s RV-10 crashed. It took place close to the Fullerton Airport on the 2300 block of Raymer Avenue.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the RV-10 is a “kit-built” aircraft, meaning that its owner can practically assemble and maintain it. After construction is finished, the aircraft is inspected by the FAA and given the all-clear to fly. According to the NTSB, there are currently about 11,000 different versions of Van’s aircraft in operation. Approximately 1,100 plans, or 10% of all designs, represent the particular model that was involved in the crash.
“It’s a kit-built airplane,” stated Elliott Simpson, an NTSB investigator. “It’s a really well-liked aircraft… It has been in flight for a long time and is a very standard aircraft.
Authorities claimed the pilot took off from Fullerton Airport at around 2:00 p.m. and quickly rose to 900 feet, based on the preliminary investigation carried out by the FAA and NTSB.
“A short time later, the pilot called for an immediate return to the airport,” said Simpson.
The aircraft headed left toward one of the runways after being given the all-clear to land on any runway, but it crashed just a thousand feet from the airport. According to Simpson, the jet instantly took fire after colliding with a furniture building. According to the Fullerton Police Department, the two plane occupants perished.
Friends of the victims named them as Pascal Reid, a resident of Huntington Beach, and his daughter, Kelly, 16, on Friday. In an Instagram post, her soccer squad recalled her as “genuine and kind with such passion for life,”
The wrecked plane lay right below a huge hole in the building’s roof, according to aerial footage.
Witnesses said they heard a “loud noise” and fled the building. Javier Ruiz, a witness, reported seeing someone who looked to have burns all over his body and clothing.
“His shirt was burned, his shoes were burned, his face,” added Ruiz. “It looked like something from a movie.”
In addition to the two fatalities, the Fullerton Fire Department reported that 19 persons were injured. According to police, the injuries were varied, with personnel treating and releasing eight people at the site while paramedics admitted 11 others to the hospital.
Police immediately evacuated the vicinity of the crash scene once it occurred.
“Plane crash in the 2300 block of Raymer Ave,” reads the Facebook post. “under the Raymer 2300 block, evacuations are now under progress. Stay away from the area. PD PIO on the way.
Firefighters said that building inspectors red-tagged the facility, preventing employees from going back inside.
In the past two months, there have been two known plane crashes at the airport. About a block distant from the most recent fatal crash, on November 25, another small plane struck a tree in the 2400 block of Artesia Avenue.
Nobody was seriously hurt. Fullerton police said it happened in November.
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