A small plane crashed into the roof of a Californian factory building on Thursday, 2nd January, causing a fire and resulting in two fatalities and 18 injuries.
The four-seater, single-engine aircraft nosedived into the furniture manufacturing building – where at least 200 people were working at the time – less than two minutes after departing from Fullerton Municipal Airport in Orange County, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.
Emergency services responded to the incident at approximately 2:00 pm and battled a significant blaze while evacuating the building, which housed furniture manufacturer Michael Nicholas Designs, and neighbouring businesses.
Two individuals were pronounced deceased at the scene, ten were transported to local hospitals, and eight were treated on-site and released, the Fullerton Police Department reported. It remains unclear whether the fatalities were occupants of the aircraft or individuals within the building.
Surveillance footage from a nearby building captured the dramatic moment the plane crashed at high speed into the factory roof, triggering a large plume of flames and black smoke. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.
Airport operations worker Chris Villalobos stated that the pilot of the plane had informed air traffic control of their intention to return for an emergency landing prior to the crash. The reason for the emergency landing was not disclosed.
The pilot was a frequent user of the single-runway airport, located approximately six miles from Disneyland, and even maintained a hangar there. They regularly took off from the small airfield.
The aircraft was identified as a single-engine Van’s RV-10, a four-seater model, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
