Two people were killed and 18 people were injured when a small plane crashed into a commercial warehouse near Fullerton Municipal Airport and started a fire, officials said.
Security camera footage captured a fireball exploding when the plane made impact with the roof of the facility, sending thick clouds of dark smoke and bright orange flames into the sky.
Nearly 20 people were injured in the incident; a triage area was set up near the building, officials said.
(OnScene.TV)
The plane crash was reported in the 2300 block of Raymer Avenue at 2:09 p.m. Thursday, prompting the evacuation of more than 100 people from inside the building and the establishment of a nearby triage area to treat the injured, according to the Fullerton Police Department.
The crash occurred about half a mile away from the Fullerton airport, and the FAA identified the aircraft as a single-engine Van’s RV-10.
At 3:25 p.m., Fullerton Police Dept. Lt. Tim Kandler said that the fire was extinguished.
As of 5 p.m., 10 people had been transported to local hospitals and eight had been treated and released at the scene, according to police spokesperson Kristy Wells.
It was not clear whether the two people killed was inside the airplane, she said.
Firefighters respond to plane crash near the Fullerton Airport on Thursday afternoon.
(KTLA)
Data from flight tracker FlightAware shows a plane leaving the small airport at 2:07 p.m. before its flight ends at 2:09 p.m, which is the time that police said they received a notification about a plane crash.
Helicopter footage captured by ABC7 showed dark plumes of smoke rising from the aircraft, which was crashed on top of a large commercial warehouse. Multiple fire crews were on scene working to extinguish the blaze.
Information was not immediately available on the cause of the crash.
Times staff writer Andrew J. Campa contributed to this report.
