FULLERTON, California (AP) — Two people were killed and 18 injured when a small plane crashed through the rooftop of a commercial building in southern California on Thursday afternoon, police said.
Police received a report about the crash in the Orange County city of Fullerton at 2:09 p.m. local time. Firefighters and police responded to the scene, battling a blaze that erupted and evacuating surrounding businesses.
The fire damaged the warehouse, which housed Michael Nicholas Designs, a furniture upholstery manufacturer. Ten people were transported to the hospital, while eight were treated and released at the scene.
The flight-tracking website FlightAware indicates that a four-seat, single-engine aircraft crashed approximately one minute after takeoff. Security camera footage from Rucci Forge, a wheel manufacturer across the street, captured a fiery explosion and a large plume of black smoke as the plane appeared to strike the building at an angle.
The plane crashed near the Fullerton Municipal Airport, a general aviation airport in Orange County located about 10 kilometers from Disneyland. The airport features one runway and one heliport. Metrolink, a regional train line, runs nearby, paralleling a residential neighborhood and commercial warehouse district.
In November of last year, another four-seat plane crashed into a tree near the airport during an emergency landing shortly after takeoff, according to the Orange County Register. Both occupants sustained moderate injuries.
Fullerton is a city with a population of approximately 140,000, situated about 40 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles.
