'Oh, Oh, Oh, My God," Pilot Says Before Plane Crashes into Fullerton, CA, Building
Los Angeles Times
(TNS)
Two people aboard a small plane were killed when their aircraft crashed into a commercial warehouse near Fullerton Municipal Airport in Southern California, bursting into flame and injuring 19 people working in the facility, officials said.
Security camera footage captured a fireball exploding Thursday afternoon when the plane hit the roof of the warehouse, sending thick clouds of dark smoke and bright orange flames into the sky.
Audio before the crash indicated that the flight went suddenly wrong.
Nearly 20 people were injured in the incident; a triage area was set up near the building, officials said.
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 the building and the establishment of a nearby triage area, according to the Fullerton Police Department.
The crash occurred about half a mile from the Fullerton airport, and officials identified the aircraft as an experimental, single-engine Van’s RV-10.
At 3:25 p.m., Fullerton police Lt. Tim Kandler said the fire was extinguished.
Eleven people were taken to hospitals and eight had been treated and released at the scene, according to Fullerton police.
Data from flight tracker FlightAware showed a plane leaving the small airport at 2:07 p.m. before its flight ended at 2:09 p.m., which is the time that police said they received a notification about a plane crash.
The plane had just taken off from the Fullerton airport when the pilot announced that an immediate landing was required, according to audio from the air traffic control tower.
In the audio, the pilot initially says he is going to land on Runway 6, prompting the air traffic controller to tell another aircraft to turn away from that area. The air traffic controller tells the pilot that either Runway 6 or 24 are clear for landing.
The pilot changes his mind and says he is going to land on Runway 24. Less than a minute later, panicked gasping and an “Oh my God” can be heard before the pilot’s audio goes quiet.
According to FAA data, the plane was registered to a Huntington Beach resident. It is unclear whether that individual was in the crash.
Multiple agencies worked together to respond to the incident. They included the Fullerton police and fire departments; Buena Park police; La Habra police; Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway police; Cal State Fullerton university police; and fire personnel from Brea, Anaheim and Huntington Beach as well as the Orange County Fire Authority.
Fullerton Mayor Fred Jung thanked first responders for their help in a Thursday evening statement he issued on behalf of the City Council.
“As we come together in the wake of this 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,” Jung stated. “We are grateful for the strength of our community and the compassion we show one another in times of crisis. Together, we will move forward with resolve, care, and unity.”
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board are conducting an investigation into the crash.
Information was not immediately available on the cause of the crash. The identity of the people killed will be released by the Orange County Coroner’s Office pending notification of family, police said.
(Staff writer Andrew J. Campa contributed to this report.)
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