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2 dead and 19 injured in Southern California plane crash

By Associated Press

 3 minute read 

Updated 1:05 AM EST, Fri January 3, 2025

 

Firefighters respond to a commercial building where a small plane crashed in Fullerton, California, on January 2. 

Damian Dovarganes/AP

Fullerton, CaliforniaAP — 

Two people died and 19 were injured Thursday when a small plane crashed through the roof of a sprawling furniture manufacturing building in Southern California where at least 200 people were working, police said.

The people who died were believed to have been on the plane, while those injured were inside the building. The deceased victims will be identified after officials have contacted the next of kin, the Fullerton Police Department said in a statement.

Eleven people were taken to hospitals, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said.

The plane crashed less than two minutes after taking off from the 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 was tilted on its side as it dove into the building, causing a fiery explosion and black plume of smoke.

Firefighters and police arrived on scene and battled the blaze 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 going down nearby.

He said the owner of the aircraft was a regular at the airport and has frequently taken off from there.

“He has a hangar here and everything,” Villalobos said.

Villalobos said that after taking off, the pilot told air traffic control he was going to turn around to make an emergency landing, but it was unclear what the issue with the plane was.

 

A hole in a commercial building in Fullerton, California, is seen from above after a small plane crashed through the rooftop on January 2. 

KABC-7/AP

The building struck by the plane was occupied by Michael Nicholas Designs, a furniture upholstery manufacturer, according to a sign on a door. There appeared to be sewing machines and textile stock inside.

Ten people were taken to the hospital, while eight were treated and released at the scene, police said. There were two confirmed deaths, according to Wells.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident and identified the plane as a single-engine, four-seat Van’s RV-10. The National Transportation Safety Board said it also is investigating.

The airport in Fullerton has one runway and a heliport. Metrolink, a regional train line, is nearby and flanks a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse buildings.

The Fullerton City Council posted a statement on social media calling the crash a “solemn tragedy.”

“The City of Fullerton is committed to providing support for all those affected and working with the agencies involved to uncover the details of this incident,” Mayor Fred Jung said in the statement. “We are grateful for the strength of our community and the compassion we show one another in times of crisis.”

Another four-seat plane crashed into a tree a half-mile from the airport last November while making an emergency landing right after takeoff, the Orange County Register reported. Both people on board suffered moderate injuries.

Fullerton is a city of about 140,000 people some 25 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Date:	Thursday 2 January 2025
Time:	c. 14:09 LT
Type:	Van’s RV-10
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:	N8757R
MSN:	001
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	near Fullerton Municipal Airport (FUL/KFUL), Fullerton, CA -    United States of America
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:	Fullerton Municipal Airport, CA (FUL/KFUL)
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
An experimental Van's RV-10, kit built by Pascal Reid and registered as a model "PRX", N8757R, was destroyed subsequent to a non-survivable impact with an industrial building during an apparent attempt to return to the point of departure at Fullerton Municipal Airport (FUL/KFUL), Fullerton, California.
The two occupants perished and there were nineteen reported injuries of varying severity on the ground.