Two people were killed and 19 were injured when a small plane crashed into the roof of a warehouse building and burned Thursday afternoon near Fullerton Municipal Airport.
The plane crashed at about 2 p.m. in the 2300 block of West Raymer Avenue, just east of the airport, police said. Black smoke could be seen rising from a hole in the roof of the business, one of several in the area.
The two deceased are believed to have been inside the aircraft when it crashed, according to authorities.
Nineteen people, who were working inside the building at the time of the crash, were injured. Eleven people were transported to a hospital, eight were treated and released at the scene. Details about the hospitalized victims’ conditions were not immediately available.
Witnesses reported a loud explosion and a large emergency response at Michael Nicholas Design Factory, a home goods store.
“People are just shaken over the situation,” said Mark Anderson. “It was just a large boom, and then one of the people went out and said, ‘Oh my gosh, the building’s on fire.'”
Police identified the plane as a home-built Van’s Aircraft RV-10 with seating for four people. The pilot appeared to be returning to the airport after takeoff, police said. It was not clear how many people were onboard the plane.
“A single-engine Van’s RV-10 crashed in Fullerton, California around 2:15 p.m. local time on Thursday, Jan 2. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will investigate. The NTSB will be in charge of the investigation and will provide all updates,” wrote the FAA in a statement to NBCLA.
Active Incident: Plane crash in the 2300 block of Raymer Ave. The media staging area is the Southeast corner of Raymer Ave and Gilbert St. Unknown casualties. Evacuations are underway in the 2300 block of Raymer. Avoid the area. PD PIO en route. pic.twitter.com/SngQuraGCH
— Fullerton PD (@FPDPIO) January 2, 2025
In November, a small plane crashed into a tree on Gilbert Street near Artesia Avenue next to Fullerton Municipal Airport. Two people suffered minor injuries in that crash.
The only general aviation airport in Orange County, Fullerton Municipal Airport is near the 5 and 91 freeways, about six miles from Disneyland in Anaheim.
